Francis Bacon's Mutilated Pope

Saturday, 13 September 2008 01:48

 

London - Nearly 30 years ago, a porter called Ron Thomas worked for the Marlborough Gallery, and Francis Bacon.  He and Bacon were great mates, and Ron often did odd jobs for him around his house, which resulted in gifts, including cheques for the porter and his family at Christmas.  One of the things Ron picked up from Bacon was a mutilated canvas his famous Pope Innocent X series.  Ron later sold the canvas (Untitled) Study for a Pope, (mutilated canvas, c.1959) to raise funds after he retired, and last year an anonymous collector bought it at auction.

Martin Harrison, in his book In Camera, p214, refers to an interview with Bacon in which he talks about his cutting habit: ‘Bacon said he destroyed “all the better paintings” in attempting “to take them further”.  When they “lose all their qualities, the canvas becomes completely clogged, and one just can’t go on”.’

Matthew Gale, curator of the forthcoming Francis Bacon retrospect at Tate Britain, wrote to the collector to let him know that Bacon often used this cutting process, and therefore these 'in-complete' paintings should be viewed as an important component of Bacon’s output. Bacon’s practice of cutting his canvases is also recorded in interviews with the art critic David Sylvestor.

Rather than view this painting as defective, the collector says: “To be able own a part of an original painting by Francis Bacon is better than not owning anything at all. My aim in loaning it to James Hyman Gallery was to make people aware of Bacon’s working methods, particularly his habit of cutting and re-laying his canvases.”  He goes on to say: "Perhaps it is unusual to own a Francis Bacon painting that the artist worked on to such an extent that he became dissatisfied with it, and ultimately destroyed it. There is no absolutely no doubt when you look at this painting, whose canvas has been slashed and ripped away, that, at his heart, Francis Bacon was a deeply self-critical artist.  He took his work to extremes, and it is this aspect that I find so fascinating when I look at this particular painting.  The work hangs at home, and it does attract a lot of attention from guests, but what else would you expect from a work of art created (and destroyed) by one of greatest painters of the twentieth century"

James Hyman from the James Hyman Gallery says: “We are delighted to be able to present Bacon’s mutilated Pope for the first time. The discovery of this abandoned and slashed canvas confirm Bacon’s violent self-criticism and gives a particular insight into his work and attitudes.”

James Hyman, of James Hyman Gallery, was previously Professor of Art History at the Courtauld Institute, London, and is an expert on Francis Bacon and British Figurative Art.  His prize-nominated book The Battle for Realism: Figurative Art in Britain During the Cold War 1945-60 was published in 2001.

JAMES HYMAN GALLERY specialises in Modern British Art and International Contemporary Art. The gallery works with a select number of Artists and Artists Estates.  In recent years its exhibition programme has included painting, drawing, sculpture, prints, photography, installation and video. JAMES HYMAN GALLERY is based at 5 Savile Row, Mayfair, London, W1 - Visit :  www.jameshymangallery.com/

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