Second Version Of Study For Bullfight No. 1
Second Version Of Study For Bullfight No. 1
Signed Print
Francis Bacon
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85 x 65cm, Edition of 150, Lithograph
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Meaning & Analysis
Study For Bullfight (central panel) is part of an infamous trio of bullfight studies by Francis Bacon finished in 1990. Each panel depicts an ominous bull with monstrous horns charging at a matador in the centre of the bullring. Contained in a fiery orange interior, the bull and matador are rendered in bruise-like tones of black and purple. They are fused together to express the intensity of the relationship between human and beast.
Bacon throughout his life was fascinated by animals. But also, with the animalistic traits in humans. He believed that civilisation and the way that humans behaved with others was only a thin veneer masking the animalistic instincts of humankind. The sport of bullfighting was a key interest for Bacon as the grandeur and macho prestige was a spectacle of mortality.
This signed central panel is part of an edition size of 150. It is the least detailed of the three. The ring extends out of the picture plane as if potentially placing the viewer within the ring. A panel painted in eggshell extending upwards from the right side of the ring is left blank drawing the viewer's eye towards the action in the centre. The energetic movement of the bull lunging towards the matador is suggested in the white trail of hoof marks in the foreground of the sandy ring.