Francis Bacon was an artist whose work spanned mainly from the 1940s to the 80s, and was particularly well known for his harrowing anthropomorphic imagery. Many art critics talk about how amazing his art is, what it represents, and the use of colour. But what does it really mean for us non-critics?
Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, Tate Britain © Estate of Francis Bacon. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2020
This triptych (Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion) is one of Bacon's most celebrated works. Bacon himself even went so far as to say that all his works up until this point were irrelevant : this was his breakthrough into the real art world. It addresses the issues and emotions that were prominent at the time, being post-war, seeming dark and heavy despite the bright background and pieced together creatures that otherwise would be comedic.
When first presented with the title, the artwork seems to be a religious image; the title refers to the people that are often depicted in paintings of the crucifixion of Jesus Christ standing at the base of the cross . Instead of these representing figures from the christian Bible; however, Bacon said that the figures actually represented the three Furies from ancient Greek mythology - goddesses of vengeance who pursued humans who had done wrong in their lives. Though this is a combination of two very different faiths, the Furies being present at Jesus’ crucifixion is an interesting concept, as in Christianity Jesus is believed to have died for Man’s sins, and the Furies are the ones who persecute such sins.
Interestingly, though this artwork has a deep religious meaning, Francis Bacon was actually an Atheist, and only used this imagery as a way to express his ideas, and not because he believed in it. In fact, he once said that 'in a world without God, humans are no different to any other animal, subject to the same innate urges; transient and alone, they are victims and perpetrators of meaningless acts'. As seen in the majority of his art, he combines animal and human characteristics in order to make the viewer question how far us humans are from animals, truly.
When looking at this artwork, we must keep in mind that it was painted in 1944 and first exhibited in the last few months of World War II in 1945, and thus this concept of humans having an animalistic nature would have had a great effect: people have committed horrendous acts in order to defend their country and family, and have seen others do the same. They were ensuring their own and their country's survival.
The religious imagery in this triptych is therefore vital: the three furies who punish such horrendous acts, or sins, if you will. They appear in this artwork at the end of a World War, and those first viewers (who perhaps were already questioning their own morality and that of humanity) begin to fully think about the cruelty that humanity is willing to commit for survival, and the eventual disregard of others' survival in favour of our own and our country’s. Some may say that because of this, the War (or wars in general) cause humans to take on animal qualities and mentalities because the desire to survive is so great; we revert back to our instinctual responses.
Bacon’s artwork therefore makes us question how different we really are from animals: are we as superior to them as we often believe?