From Library Journal
These two books enrich the already substantial Bacon bibliography with different but equally successful approaches. While Peppiatt's biography fleshes out, with lucidity and scholarship, biographical and contextual details heretofore unexplored, Bacon: Portraits and Self-Portraits is a lavishly produced treat with a sharp focus, carefully chosen reproductions, and inspired writing. Peppiatt (editor of Art International) brings both a critical and a personal perspective to his subject, as he was a close friend of the artist. Bacon's haunting images almost beg for psychological exploration; likewise, one is tempted to search for elements of the artist's hidden, exceptional life (and lifestyle) in his work. The new information Peppiatt provides about Bacon's early years enlarges the already complex portrait of the artist, and the interplay of persona and paintings adds up to a compelling and readable study. Bacon: Portraits and Self-Portraits is composed of Bacon's representations of people?ranging from Lucian Freud to Mick Jagger?with many details and photographs that unveil the remarkable likenesses retained in studies that on the surface are gross distortions. Kundera's essay explores links with Picasso and Beckett and is wonderfully perceptive, while Belgian art historian Borel's prose is provocative?albeit a bit ponderous, possibly in part because of the translation. Both titles are highly recommended for 20th-century art collections, although the latter is more of a luxury.?Heidi Martin Winston,
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Book Description
From tormented self-images to brutal portrayals of friends and fellow artists, the portraits of Francis Bacon account for one of the most remarkable aspects of the work of this great British painter. His stylistic distortions of classicism and his famous deformations have changed the traditional genre of portraiture more drastically than the work of any other artist of the twentieth century. Originally published on the occasion of a major retrospective at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, Bacon: Portraits and Self-Portraits is the first book dedicated to this aspect of his work. Milan Kundera, the famed Czech novelist, provides a perceptive introduction explaining his personal response to Bacon's work, exploring the paradox that lies in the faithfulness of the distorted images, and likening Bacon's genius to that of Samuel Beckett, both working at the outer limits of their art. An important essay by art historian France Borel sets Bacon's works in the context of his life and influences and explains his approach to portraiture. With superb reproductions of more than 130 studies and portraits, including those of Lucian Freud, George Dyer, Mick Jagger, and Isabel Rawsthorne, Bacon: Portraits and Self-Portraits offers new insight into these radical and disturbing images. Many details are included, revealing for the first time the varied textures of Bacon's paint surface.
