An exhibition Francis Bacon: A Terrible Beauty is being shown in the Hugh Lane Gallery on Parnell Square to celebrate the centenary of Francis Bacon’s birth in a nursing home on Lower Baggot Street, Dublin in 1909.
Self-Portrait, 1969
The exhibition comprising paintings, drawings, photographs, unfinished works and slashed canvases offers the viewer a new look at Francis Bacon including several paintings which have not been on public exhibition for many years. The mastery of Francis Bacon is revealed through these works, supported by an extensive and previously unseen selection of items from Bacon’s Studio.
Following on the donation of the Studio to the Hugh Lane by John Edwards in 1998, the 7,000 plus items retrieved from the studio were archived by The Hugh Lane. Francis Bacon’s Studio has been on permanent exhibition at Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane since 2001. It is acknowledged as one of the most pioneering and successful realisations of preserving and displaying an artist’s studio and contents. The database is unprecedented, documenting every item retrieved, thus providing fascinating insights into Bacon’s working processes.
Admission to the exhibition is free and it is running until 7 March 2010. The Hugh Lane Gallery is open Tuesday to Thursday 10.00am– 6.00pm, Friday & Saturday 10.00am–5.00pm, Sunday 11.00am–5.00pm and they are closed on Mondays.
If you’d like to read more about the life and works of Francis Bacon before heading to the exhibition, there is plenty of background information on Francis-Bacon.com.
Went to see this a while back and wasn’t overly pushed. Maybe it’s great for fans of Bacon but it lacked enough *actual finished* work. It was a bit of a poor man’s exhibition with a lot of junk in my opinion.
Loved Hugh Lane Gallery though. Will definitely go back again.
Oh really? I don’t know much about him and was thinking it might be an interesting one to visit. Sure I will pay a visit anyway - I’ve never been to the Hugh Lane Gallery!!
I think it would work better in conjunction with a proper exhibition of his work. Instead it was just bits of disused or destroyed canvases and pieces of junk found around his studio.
It may give a great insight into the workings of the man’s mind but again, only of real interest if you’re already a Bacon fan.
“and pieces of junk. ” And before anyone starts I know this is subjective.
Might be interested to know that the exhibition will be coming over to England in March in a slightly different format. Entitled Francis Bacon: In Camera it looks at how film and photography has influenced and informed his work. The show runs at Compton Verney in Warwickshire (9 miles from Stratford upon Avon) 27 March - 20 June 2010.
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