In this paper we discuss the work of francis bacon in the context of his declared aim of giving a visual shock. Interviews with francis bacon by david sylvester 1987 paperback david sylvester. The moment i saw this place i knew that i could work here, enthused bacon about the modest property. In a 1984 interview with david sylvester, bacon claimed that water from a running tap was his most accomplished painting. Francis bacon produced some of the most iconic images of wounded and traumatized humanity in postwar art. In these masterfully and creatively reconstructed interviews, sylvester has provided unparalleled access to the thought, work, and life of one of the creative geniuses of our century. Sep 05, 2000 anthony david bernard sylvester cbe, 21 september 1924. During a long career david sylvester was influential in promoting modern art in britain, in particular the work of lucian freud and francis bacon. It is observed by bacon, that reading makes a full man, conversation a ready man, and writing an exact man. Francis bacon interviewed by david sylvester the guardian. Interviews with francis bacon by david sylvester the. David sylvester, looking back at francis bacon, london 2000, p.
Francis bacons last interview, by francis giacobetti. I want a very ordered image, but i want it to have come about by chance, he told sylvester in the same 1966 interview. Newman barnett picasso pablo pollock jackson punin nikolay rodchenko aleksandr rosenberg harold rothko mark simmel georg smith david tretyakov sergei trotsky leon williams raymond. Pdf interviews with francis bacon download full pdf book. Francis bacon interviewed by david sylvester 23 march. Interview with david sylvester francis bacon the interview was recorded by the bbc in october 1962. Francis bacons painting is of a very special violence. Apr 18, 20 francis bacon fragments of a portrait interview by david sylvester tv documentary, broadcast on bbc1, 18 september 1966. The interview published in the art newspaper is an excerpt of a much longer interview francis bacon did with his friend francis giacobetti between september 1991 and. Other readers will always be interested in your opinion of the books youve read. A rare francis bacon interview from a 1971 bbc documentary. Interviews with francis bacon opinions end users have never yet eventually left their own report on the overall game, or you cannot make out the print nevertheless.
By far the most significant collaboration between bacon and sylvester was the series of interviews first published in 1975, but conducted from 1962 to 1974. He believed that through embracing spontaneityand accepting accidents as integral aspects of the compositionhed achieve true emotional candor. David sylvester the brutality of fact interviews with francis bacon free ebook download as pdf file. David sylvester was curator of several major international francis bacon exhibitions. Mar 24, 1975 an essential and entertaining series of interviews with francis bacon by david sylvester from 1962 to 1986, 9 interviews. Interviews with francis bacon by david sylvester abebooks. A selftaught artist, bacon rejected abstraction in painting to explore a repertoire of strange, fractured, and often bizarre figurative images, many replete with homosexual, sadomasochistic, and fetishistic undertones. Francis bacon, interviews with david sylvester 1966,1971. His father, captain anthony edward mortimer eddy bacon, was born in adelaide, south australia, to an english father and an australian mother. Have you ever had any desire at all to do an abstract painting. Francis bacon interviewed by david sylvester 23 march 1963. The extraordinarily revealing interviews with francis bacon conducted over a period of 25 years by the distinguished art critic david sylvester amoun. Educational dossier francis bacon exhibition at the museo del prado notes 1 david sylvester, the brutality of fact.
He lived in london and wrote for the tribune before heading to paris and working as. The interview was recorded by the bbc in october 1962. One continuous accident mounting on top of another. Bacons appeal is rooted in his notoriety a candid image he presented of himself as roaring boy, lord of misrule and conveyor of artistic violence. Francis bacon was the loudest, rudest, drunkest, most soughtafter british artist of the 20th century. Late paintings the museum of fine arts, houston february 23may 25, 2020 francis bacon 19091992 was the most galvanic figure of british art in the twentieth century. Sep 12, 2007 an edited extract from interviews with francis bacon by david sylvester in 1963, 1966 and 1979 david sylvester. We explore what this means in terms of brain activity and what insights into the. Like an analyst listening to a patient, this study attends not just to what is said in david sylvester s interviews with francis bacon, but also crucially to what is left unspoken, to revealing interruptions and caesuras.
An essential and entertaining series of interviews with francis bacon by david sylvester from 1962 to 1986, 9 interviews. An edited extract from interviews with francis bacon by david sylvester in 1963, 1966 and. Pdf interviewing francis bacon sandra kisters academia. Francis bacon fragments of a portrait interview by david sylvester duration. Like an analyst listening to a patient, this study attends not just to what is said in david sylvesters interviews with francis bacon, but also crucially to what is. With bacon s recent death, no other work will ever match this achievement. Although he received no formal education in the arts, during his long career he was influential in promoting modern artists, in particular francis bacon, joan miro and lucian freud.
I painted to be loved interview by francis giacobetti conducted on february 1992, published in the art newspaper, no. Francis bacon and the brutality of fact video dailymotion. Francis bacon fragments of a portrait interview by david. When i first read david sylvesters interviews with francis bacon at the bushytailed, brighteyed age of 16, they changed my life. Synopsis this pilot for a live arts discussion programme was never broadcast, although the series that followed ran for. Anthony david bernard sylvester cbe, 21 september 1924. In bacons garden, and last, but not least, sir wal. Pdf the mirror and the lamp both figure as important motifs in the work of the contemporary painter francis bacon. Francis bacon, interviews with david sylvester 1966,197173. David sylvester was a prominent writer, art critic, and leading authority on francis bacon. Nov 15, 2016 the extraordinarily revealing interviews with francis bacon conducted over a period of 25 years by the distinguished art critic david sylvester amount to a unique statement by bacon on his art and on art in general. Interviews with francis bacon 3 by david sylvester isbn. Anthony david bernard sylvester cbe 21 september 1924 19 june 2001 was a british art critic and curator. David sylvester cbe 19242001 was a prominent writer, art critic and curator, and a leading authority on rene magritte, henry moore and, in particular, francis bacon.
Francis bacon fragments of a portrait interview by david sylvester. Pdf interviews with francis bacon download full pdf. An edited extract from interviews with francis bacon by david sylvester in 1963, 1966 and 1979 david sylvester. As bacon attained to degrees of knowledge scarcely ever attained by any other man, the directions which he gives for study have certainly a just claim to our. Francis bacon after a decade of painting in temporary spaces, francis bacon moved into 7 reece mews in october 1961. In these masterfully and creatively reconstructed interviews, sylvester provided unparalleled access to the thought, work and. Looking back at francis bacon by david sylvester the. David sylvester the brutality of fact interviews with francis bacon. The recurring themes in bacons work, his influences and his life. Ever since its first publication, this book with its subsequent revised and augmented editions has been considered a classic of its kind, and that reputation. But these are overly facile detours, detours that the artist himself judges severely and condemns in his work. A lost interview with francis bacon from a pilot that was never broadcast. Interview with david sylvester francis bacon art theory.
Francis bacon, interviews with david sylvester 1966,197173 interview, 1966 david sylvester. Interviews with francis bacon up to now in regards to the guide weve got the brutality of fact. Pdf download interviews with francis bacon by david. Everyday low prices and free delivery on eligible orders. Francis bacon one continuous accident mounting on top of another an edited extract from interviews with francis bacon by david sylvester in 1963, 1966 and 1979. Whether youve loved the book or not, if you give your honest and detailed thoughts then people will find new books that are right for them. In an interview with critic david sylvester, bacon attributed the connotations of violence in his paintings to the turbulent circumstances of his early life. Gegenwart 32012 1 interviewing francis bacon sandra kisters the first time that i. In fact, it was sylvester who interviewed bacon march 23, 1963. He was introduced to bacon, a famously reluctant photographic subject, by. Born in dublin, francis bacon was named after his famous ancestor, the english philosopher and scientist. Francis bacon was born on 28 october 1909 in a nursing home in old georgian dublin at 63 lower baggot street.
As bacon attained to degrees of knowledge scarcely ever attained by any other man, the directions which he gives for study have certainly a just claim to our regard. In these masterfully and creatively reconstructed interviews, sylvester has provided unparalleled. Francis bacon article about francis bacon by the free. Sep 12, 2007 when i first read david sylvester s interviews with francis bacon at the bushytailed, brighteyed age of 16, they changed my life. The paperback of the interviews with francis bacon. The extraordinarily revealing interviews with francis bacon conducted over a period of 25 years by the distinguished art critic david sylvester amount to a unique statement by bacon on his art and on art in general. Interviews with francis bacon by david sylvester, paperback. His father, edward, served in the army and later took a job in the war office during world war i. Francis bacon and the brutality of fact a film by michael blackwood. Francis bacon fragments of a portrait interview by david sylvester tv documentary, broadcast on bbc1, 18 september 1966. In autumn 1991 the corsican photographer francis giacobetti began an extraordinary series of portraits of francis bacon.
In an interview with critic david sylvester, bacon attributed the connotations of violence in his paintings to the turbulent circumstances of. As a discussion of the problems of making art it has been widely influential. Francis bacons last interview, by francis giacobetti, 19911992. Borrowing inspiration from surrealism, film, photography, and the old masters, he forged a distinctive style that made him one of the most widely recognized exponents of figurative art in the 1940s and 1950s. Francis bacon and the brutality of fact a film by michael blackwood 1985, 58 minutes, color website. Its interesting that the photographic image youve worked from most of all isnt a scientific or a journalistic one but a very deliberate and famous work of art the still of the screaming nanny from potemkin. Nine interviews with francis bacon spanning over twenty years from 1962 to 1986 which give invaluable insight into the creative mind of one of the twentieth centurysgreatest artists since its first publication, this bookwith its subsequent revised and augmented editionshas been considered a classic of its kind. Nine interviews with francis bacon spanning over twenty years from 1962 to 1986 which give invaluable insight into the creative mind of one of the twentieth centurysgreatest artists since its first publication, this book with its subsequent revised and augmented editionshas been considered a classic of its kind. Bacon often credited the power of his paintings to accidents.