Review
This book of interviews, illustrated copiously with black-and-white reproductions of Bacon's major works, is being brought out on the same day as the opening of a major Bacon retrospective at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art. Art critic David Sylvester has edited and distilled the transcripts of his conversations over the last ten years with the painter. They read very well indeed. Bacon's paintings are savage and horrific - he's known for his crucifixions, screams ("I've always hoped in a sense to be able to paint the mouth like Monet painted a sunset," he explains), twisted bloody carcasses reclining on flea-bag beds (he admires "this great beauty of the color of meat") and a series of sinister Popes with open mouths. The latter, it seems, are inspired by Velasquez, who, along with Rembrandt, are his ideal artists. He prefers to work completely alone - from photographs, not life, with only "the memory." of his model; and the text is also accompanied by some of those pictures that have encouraged his mind to "drift freely." He contends that he is an optimist; he seems, rather, haunted by that unspeakable sensation conveyed by his slaughterhouse cries. Needless to say, the Met show will establish him as a household cultural figure and Sylvester's interpretation will become essential. (Kirkus Reviews)
Book Description
This catalogue accompanies the exhibition "Francis Bacon: The Human Body", held at the Hayward Gallery, London, from February 5th until April 5th, 1998.
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