Francis Bacon was a 20th century Irish-Australian painter known for his serenely dark and self-reflective paintings of mostly male figures, expressing his sensual, emotional and abstract aesthetic. Haider Ackermann chose two pieces by Bacon for A#3, two separate studies from his later life, featuring his long time friend John Edwards seated cross-legged in each painting (both entitled ‘Study for Portrait of John Edwards’.
In both pieces Bacon manipulates planes to give a strong notion of space and perspective, as though Edwards is seated at the farthest reach of a long room, with the floor and central wall dominating the image and drawing the eye to the subject through the strong use of colour and the illusion of depth. Edwards’ lower leg seems to disappear into the curve of the chair in the left image, as his arm does in the right image. The majority of each image is softly blended, yet sharper details are visible – the crisp turn of a collar for example.

The similarity of the two pieces is evidence of Bacon’s tendency to work in serial format – these two ‘studies’ becoming equally as relevant as any final portrait ever was.

See two further studies of John Edwards by Francis Bacon below: