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Shortly after Francis Bacon died, one photographer was granted access to work undisturbed for days on end to produce this riveting record of the Kensington mews house in which Francis Bacon lived and worked for much of his life. In the studio itself, thirty years of inspired artistic endeavour had accumulated in tangible form - the last unfinished painting on the easel; the slashed, discarded canvases on the floor; brushes and paints; photographs of friends and models; pages torn from magazines and books that served visual stimulus for his work; doors and walls that seem to have been inpromptu palettes. Published now for the first time, together with photographs of Bacon's living quarters, kitchen and bedroom, his bookshelves stacked high with Aeschylus, T.S. Eliot and other volumes, trousers draped over a chair, a fractured mirror broken in who knows what incident, this is an astonishing document. Straightforwardly presented, it gives us the sense of having been invited in by Bacon as if he has briefly gone out to buy his newspapers. Some of those close to Bacon during his lifetime believe that his studio and its contents was an heroic statement, in the mould of Duchamp's great work Elant Donnes, secretly constructed over many years to distil and give final form to his intentions as an artist.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
Apart from actually visiting the studio (which is now located in Dublin) this is a glorious vision of Francis Bacon's home and studio. The detail recorded in the photographs bring home the working environment of the artist. Countless items scattered all over the floor, piled on top of each other and generally strewn about. It looks like a tip but here was where Bacon painted at his finest. Here was also Bacon's home. Even though he had other property it was here that he would retire to and even, at times, entertain people by cooking in his kitchen.
One can almost visualise Bacon getting up and going to paint, maybe then going out, returning to paint and then warming himself at his gas stove. Through the madness, comes the art.
This book is a gem for I don't know how many studio's any of us ever have access to but this is almost as good as it gets. Well worth having, if only to look through the photographs from time to time.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
This book is a rare, subtle, and superb insight into the artistic process of a complex, creative individual.
Looking through this beautifully printed book has a certain voyeuristic feel to it. After dissecting the contents of the studio (what many could consider a peak of privacy), the photographs draw us towards the kitchen, the book shelf, the bed...this is a book of many tiny illuminations shedding lights in this intriguing character.
This is more than a collection of photographs of an artist's studio. This is a rare glimpse of a fascinating private world, beautifully photographed and presented.
Looking through this beautifully printed book has a certain voyeuristic feel to it. After dissecting the contents of the studio (what many could consider a peak of privacy), the photographs draw us towards the kitchen, the book shelf, the bed...this is a book of many tiny illuminations shedding lights in this intriguing character.
This is more than a collection of photographs of an artist's studio. This is a rare glimpse of a fascinating private world, beautifully photographed and presented.
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
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3 reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
'Finding Order in Chaos': The Creative Space of Francis Bacon
24 Jan 2006
Format:Hardcover
Views of the studio at 7 Reece Mews in South Kensington, London, where Francis Bacon spent the last thirty years of his life from 1961 - 1992, inform us of many aspects of Bacon's life and art. The studio is notorious among artists' studios in that it is nearly non-navigable, so strew are the walls and floors and easels with the memorabilia and photos, drawings and articles that ultimately resulted in some of the most exciting art created in the 20th Century.
This very fine book represents a catalogue of the project to move Bacon's studio intact to Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin where the curators have seized on documenting every tube, brush, tossed away sketch, collaged photos, small reproductions of famous artists' works (such as the Velasquez popes), bits of cloth and canvas, and photos of his models, his lovers, and his associates - a daunting task but one so important that it takes this book to define.
Richly photographed by Perry Ogden who manages to capture the atmosphere of claustrophobia that pervades the studio, this book is indispensable to the scholars who find Bacon's visual influences as important as his paintings. The writing that accompanies this photographic essay is highly informative and immensely readable: Gallery Director Barbara Dawson offers a probing insightful examination of Bacon's personal and artistic history in 'Francis Bacon's Studio: A Stimulating Solitude' and the Curator of the Francis Bacon Collection essays 'Finding order in chaos: Francis Bacon's Studio contents'.
Though the book is small (61 pages) it is of utmost importance to those fascinated with the expressionist art of Bacon. An added bonus is a brief but thorough Timeline of Bacon's life. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, January 06
This very fine book represents a catalogue of the project to move Bacon's studio intact to Hugh Lane Gallery in Dublin where the curators have seized on documenting every tube, brush, tossed away sketch, collaged photos, small reproductions of famous artists' works (such as the Velasquez popes), bits of cloth and canvas, and photos of his models, his lovers, and his associates - a daunting task but one so important that it takes this book to define.
Richly photographed by Perry Ogden who manages to capture the atmosphere of claustrophobia that pervades the studio, this book is indispensable to the scholars who find Bacon's visual influences as important as his paintings. The writing that accompanies this photographic essay is highly informative and immensely readable: Gallery Director Barbara Dawson offers a probing insightful examination of Bacon's personal and artistic history in 'Francis Bacon's Studio: A Stimulating Solitude' and the Curator of the Francis Bacon Collection essays 'Finding order in chaos: Francis Bacon's Studio contents'.
Though the book is small (61 pages) it is of utmost importance to those fascinated with the expressionist art of Bacon. An added bonus is a brief but thorough Timeline of Bacon's life. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, January 06
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Essential coda
10 Feb 2002
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
An unusual, beautiful little book for the shelves of Francis Bacon fans. The photographs are beautiful, exhaustively document this legendary, but little known space, and have a haunting quality that complements other Bacon monographs. One senses the vibrancy of the artist's life, and only then the realization that, but for the fact he is deceased, the reader would not be holding this book and having this "privileged" view. Very strange!
Plowing through the glorious debris
15 Oct 2009
Format:Hardcover
If the idea of a neat, orderly artist's studio with everything in Tupperware tubs makes you twitch; this book is for you. The photos seem to capture the studio in a state of divine chaos, nearly ankle-deep with art supplies, visual reference material, beloved and well-used books, paint-splattered walls, a grimey encrusted radiator. The place absolutely radiates activity, urgency, and exploration. Given that most of us cannot parade through the studios of our favorite artists, a book like this is the next best thing. As I flipped through the pages, I felt the crustiness of the surfaces, I caught the energy of the ideas, and almost felt I could sniff the scent of solvents and paints.
I just completed a book about artist's studios and creative workspaces ("Art-Making & Studio Spaces" by Rockport/Quarry)and was intent on showing studios "as is". Somehow, viewing the places where art "happens" (including all the messes, oddities, and eccentricities) seems like an important part of revealing the process. "7 Reece Mews" is a wonderful book, and greatly added to the overall body of work, showing how vital and important artist's workspaces are. Highly recommended!
I just completed a book about artist's studios and creative workspaces ("Art-Making & Studio Spaces" by Rockport/Quarry)and was intent on showing studios "as is". Somehow, viewing the places where art "happens" (including all the messes, oddities, and eccentricities) seems like an important part of revealing the process. "7 Reece Mews" is a wonderful book, and greatly added to the overall body of work, showing how vital and important artist's workspaces are. Highly recommended!
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