108
Francis Bacon
Triptyque de la tauromachie (Bulfighting Triptych) (S. 29, T. 37)
- Estimate
- £15,000 - 20,000♠
£27,720
Lot Details
Three lithographs in colours, on folded sheets of Arches paper (as issued) with letterpress text on the inside pages, the full sheets, illustrating the book Miroir de la tauromachie, with title page, colophon and texts, the sheets loose (as issued) all contained in the original fabric-covered portfolio.
1990
all S. 47.9 x 35.9 cm (18 7/8 x 14 1/8 in.)
portfolio 51.2 x 38.5 x 4 cm (20 1/8 x 15 1/8 x 1 5/8 in.)
portfolio 51.2 x 38.5 x 4 cm (20 1/8 x 15 1/8 x 1 5/8 in.)
All signed in pencil, numbered '57' in pencil on the colophon, from the edition of 150 (there were also 5 hors commerce impressions in Roman numerals), published by Galerie Lelong, Paris, not including Portrait de Michael Leiris (S. 30), all unframed.
Specialist
Full-Cataloguing
Literature
Francis Bacon
Irish-British | B. 1909 D. 1992Francis Bacon was a larger-than-life figure during his lifetime and remains one now more than ever. Famous for keeping a messy studio, and even more so for his controversial, celebrated depictions of papal subjects and bullfights, often told in triptychs, Bacon signified the blinding dawn of the Modern era. His signature blurred portraits weren't murky enough to stave off his reputation as highly contentious—his paintings were provocations against social order in the people's eye. But, Bacon often said, "You can't be more horrific than life itself."
In conversation with yet challenging the conventions of Modern art, Bacon was known for his triptychs brutalizing formalist truths, particularly Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, which Bacon debuted in London in 1944, and Three Studies of Lucian Freud, which became famous when it set the record for most expensive work of art at auction at the time it sold in 2013.
Browse ArtistIn conversation with yet challenging the conventions of Modern art, Bacon was known for his triptychs brutalizing formalist truths, particularly Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, which Bacon debuted in London in 1944, and Three Studies of Lucian Freud, which became famous when it set the record for most expensive work of art at auction at the time it sold in 2013.