Should I visit the Francis Bacon show 'Human Presence' at the National Portrait Gallery in London?

[@MaxMut.]

No words to appreciate your contribution.. Cheers 🥂

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@@MaxMut. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@star_wars_miniatures]

Seeing you upload a Francis bacon video just after I’ve finished an 8 hour shift at work is a perfect way to to finish my day! Fantastic video as always! I still really would love to go and see his studio that they moved over to Dublin. I’ve been to his actual studio location which has a blue national heritage sign. An absolute genius but also a bit of a nutter 😅

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@star_wars_miniatures Thank you - a great show. One of those that has grown as I've thought about it. I would love to visit the Hugh Lane gallery in Dublin as well. It sounds amazing. Maybe 2025 as part of an Ireland art trip. I've never been to the actual London site so must do that at some point in the next couple of months. Thanks for highlighting.

[@star_wars_miniatures]

@@artgalleryexplorer that sounds amazing to me!! 😍😍 I’ll definitely be here for that one! I’m intrigued to see what you’ve got planned next! Micheal Craig Martin at the royal academy has got your name on it!😉 Not quite an art gallery tour but I could see you doing a video or two on Sotheby’s and Christie’s auctions? You’d be able to preview the paintings being sold and sit in on the auction that evening! Just be careful not to accidentally bid on anything😅😅

[@artgalleryexplorer]

​@@star_wars_miniatures I will certainly try to get to MCM before his show finishes and would have to have a think about covering auctions. It is an interesting idea and kind allows one to take a pulse of the current state of the world art market.. There is quite a lot of other stuff I would like to cover - the multitude of art fairs, for example, from Frieze down, and, especially, more work by new artists who are starting out but I work full time so it is tough to squeeze everything in on top of that!

[@user-bu9nb8wr6e]

I’m looking forward to seeing this on Monday. Thank you for your excellent review.

[@artgalleryexplorer]

I very much hope you enjoy it. You are in for a treat!

[@slipton6493]

The title of the show Human Presence is perfect as it gets to the core of one of the aspects to being human when one is alone and the social mask is dropped. Bacon is original in his expression as well as masterful. Great colorist too. The music you chose really fit the work. Thanks for sharing this show!

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@@slipton6493 Very much so. I should have mentioned the title in the vlog as it is very apt. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@jameswelsh7789]

Agreed, period photos along with the paintings, I would have thought that would detract but it gave me a bright idea that I may try in my own paintings. I took me decades to go from respecting Beacon to really admiring his work, so thanks once again, George, for bringing us along with you!

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@jameswelsh7789 I'm glad it has inspired something in your own work (which I would be intrigued to see BTW, if ever on show. Let me know if you do show.). Also, interestingly, 'peak Bacon' painted from commissioned photographs. I am on a similar journey - getting towards a deeper love and appreciation.

[@RoyGreen-ee1bq]

bravo...thank you...his earlier works were really ahead of their time...i love the way he disrupts pictorial space and his color choices are often surprising and fresh...

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@RoyGreen-ee1bq Absolutely. I loved these early works for that reason and the show reminded me what a great colourist he was. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@marthaevans8270]

Perfect musical immersion in the grotesque!

[@artgalleryexplorer]

Thank you - it is hard to get right!

[@jimejones-093]

Thanks, Art Gallery Explorer, for posting this. I have only really discovered FB recently and feel the same way about his works that you express in this production. Let's face it, nobody's really ever lived 'the Life of Riley' I suppose, and artists whose works are honestly biographical portray the personal ups and downs of their existence and that, for me, makes FB so compelling.

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@jimejones-093 He definitely did have some horrific downs - as well as highs. I guess the later works are a reflection. Thank you so much for watching and commenting.

[@frippp66]

Great film about a truly great artist. Took on your suggestion & played a Coil playlist while watching it. Really suits melancholy electonica. (I do like 'Danse Macabre' but associate it more with Halloween fun, Charles Adams cartoons etc)

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@frippp66 Great choice! Much more suitable. I was thinking a bit of Nine inch Nails as well. So frustrating to be limited by copyright as there is a world of great music out there. I got a warning because Buffalo Soldier was playing out of the Ford Escort at the Turner Prize so had to mute it! Thank you for watching.

[@frippp66]

@@artgalleryexplorer i understand the copyright issues - what a pain. Yes Nine Inch Nails ('Closer'!) would be perfect. i am enjoying the videos.

[@antreb15]

So much power and emotion in his art.

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@antreb15 Very much so and I'm growing to love it.

[@Robslondon]

Brilliant video.

[@artgalleryexplorer]

Thank you - although the art did the talking! A good show.

[@Robslondon]

@@artgalleryexplorer Keep them coming ;-)

[@jamesrothwellrogers4529]

So that's where the Bacon painting I often look at in the Thyssen has gone! Very envious of you with this one, George. Thank you so much for sharing. It's been a great way to end my Monday after a long day at work!!

[@artgalleryexplorer]

Thank you James. Apologies for the delay in replying but a really good show. The loan from Madrid was good to see.

[@thewaythingsare8158]

I love the way he uses corduroy

[@artgalleryexplorer]

You know, I didn't know this until researching for this exhibition. A really interesting technique to create texture in the work. Thank you for watching and commenting.

[@alexandramuller4350]

Love the paint on the photographs

[@artgalleryexplorer]

Defiantly, especially the Lucian Freud and Muriel Belcher ones - clear evidence of them being primary source material in the studio.

[@alexandramuller4350]

Yes, the photo of Lucian Freud is my favourite.

[@siobhanheffernan2647]

Thank you

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@siobhanheffernan2647 Thank for watching. An epic exhibition!

[@MichaelLaing71]

I first saw Francis Bacon's work in the Haywood gallery in the late 90's and at the time I didn't get it, but over the years, I have learnt to appreciate it more and more, and now he is one of my favourite artists, because he dared to do something so different. This reminds me that I shouldn't try to conform to my work.

[@artgalleryexplorer]

Definitely please don't conform to any expectations in your own work! Likewise, I am growing to become more and more appreciative. This show certainly helped that!

[@WendySmith-l8i]

During many visits to Tate Britain I have always had to walk quickly past Bacon's paintings, they are so difficult for me to look at. Your intro and summary really made me think about his painting and whether I might visit the current exhibition. It could be a yes! First of all I have booked for Van Gogh, in Dec, if recovered from the recent op. The link with his work feels like a sign! Danse Macabre, a favourite.... Lots to think about in your summing up. Thanks

[@artgalleryexplorer]

Thank you Wendy. I hope you are recovering from the recent op and that you get to see the Van Gogh show. It will certainly life your spirits if you can (and excellent that you managed to get a ticket. All tickets are currently sold out). As hopefully conveyed, some of the works in this show are difficult but contains such a nice range that it made me think slightly again.

[@WendySmith-l8i]

Hi George. Today marked my return to gallery visits, and I started with Francis Bacon. The large print guide to captions was really helpful, as my eyes recover. Without your vlog I would have avoided this exhibition, but I found it really interesting, especially the way he used pictures, photos etc. He hadn't even seen the Velasquez painting that was so important to his work...only pictures of it. There is nothing like seeing the actual brushwork and colour....as evidenced today! I have watched your vlog again after my visit today. Thank you. I won't walk past his paintings again! Next week...Van Gogh!

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@@WendySmith-l8i Hi Wendy, I am so glad you are back visiting galleries and I hope the op was a success. It is a good show, isn't it? I hope it wasn't too busy and you were able to enjoy the works with enough space. Van Gogh is such a treat. I was online for four hours on the 19th to get tickets for a second look - it is that good!!

[@marjacgoo]

Would love for you to check out George Rouy's exhibition at Hauser and Wirth following this!

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@marjacgoo Consider it done (in a couple of weeks). Not an artist I know a lot about but have just had a look on the website and the show looks fascinating!

[@Pulpit68]

Outstanding! Thank you.

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@@Pulpit68 Thank you so much for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@@Pulpit68 Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@@Pulpit68 Thank you for watching and commenting!

[@greatsewing6061]

Best viewed on the slowest speed with the sound turned off. In this way, you can appreciate the paintings, pause when you want an appropriate viewing, and not be too bothered by the awkwardness of the handheld camera. Thanks for posting. Although I will never purchase the Catalog Raissonne, I do appreciate seeing these very rarely shown, if ever photographed, works of art.

[@artgalleryexplorer]

Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment.

[@rlund651]

Another great post! I’ve always found Bacons portraits to be more disturbing than the rest of his work.

[@krasenmaximov8110]

I got on a plane and flew to London for this exhibition. No regrets. They were so beautiful.

[@artgalleryexplorer]

Really glad you felt the journey was worthwhile! The show packs a punch, doesn't it?

[@krasenmaximov8110]

@@artgalleryexplorer Yes. I spent 2 hours looking at them, no blinking. Thank you for your video!

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@@krasenmaximov8110 Fantastic! It definitely takes that long to fully immerse.

[@jameswelsh7789]

Oh, one more thing. I 2nd the vote for a trip to H&W to have a look at George Roury!!!

[@mattgriffiths7755]

It made me think of the recent Auerbach show at the Courtauld - both using their skill to show the souls of ther sitters.

[@artgalleryexplorer]

Definitely and they were peers in that same incredible period in London, with Freud, Kossoff etc. You get the shadow of war that hung over Britain with those two and Kossoff so strongly.

[@jeffcurtis5980]

I'd love to see this show but cannot as I live in Thailand and can't get back. There'll probably never be another like this in my lifetime. Feckit

[@artgalleryexplorer]

I think there will be, hopefully. He is shown quite widely. I very much hope you get to see a big Bacon show.Thank you for taking the time to comment and apologies for the delay in replying.

[@frogtastic1000]

They did this a few years ago at the National Galllery?

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@frogtastic1000 They did a big Bacon show in 2015 but The Royal Academy did a large show 'Man and Beast' in 2022 so we regularly see him in London!

[@frogtastic1000]

@@artgalleryexplorer It just seems the same artists recycled over and over again (Cezanne, Monet, Bacon etc etc).

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@@frogtastic1000 There is certainly an element of that but also quite a lot of more 'out there' stuff. The size of Tate Modern, for example, means they can show a big blockbuster and less well known shows. Also, this year, there has been a real attempt to show artists such as Van Gogh, Monet, John Singer Sargent in a different light. thank you, as always, for watching.

[@lucreziawalker952]

⁠@@frogtastic1000Agree. Add Hockney and Picasso

[@lucreziawalker952]

Great review of the exhibition of a powerful artist.

[@ChrisC-ei2kc]

Yeah, you don't want to be meeting Francis for the first time, getting drunk with him and going back to his studio.

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@@ChrisC-ei2kc I think meeting Bacon in Soho would have been a wild night out!!

[@stevenwilliambaylessparks3730]

Strangely, at leastin this show, Bacon paid no homage to Picasso who was in the vanguard of deconstructing the human face and figure.

[@ChrisC-ei2kc]

You've been eating too many crayons.

[@stevenwilliambaylessparks3730]

@@ChrisC-ei2kc you've been sniffing too much paint thinner

[@ChrisC-ei2kc]

The only thing Bacon and Picasso had/have in common is their over-ratedness.

[@artgalleryexplorer]

@stevenwilliambaylessparks3730 The show only mentioned it briefly but yes, there is a clear influence This article explains it quite well. A huge influence at first and then it dissipated. Thank you for watching. www.francis-bacon.com/news/francis-bacon-and-influence-picasso