Study for Head of Lucian Freud, 1967 (Q3)

Francis Bacon is one of the most recognized figurative painters of the 20th century. His unique approach to painting has been influencing artists like Jenny Saville or Damien Hirst. Bacon's signature style is characterized by an energetic and visceral way of painting, with flat backgrounds and a powerful sense of motion. Exploring the human figure in its most distorted aspect, his imagery is often defined as terrifying because of the emotional physicality he attributes to each brushstroke. For Bacon, life inspired art, drawing on the themes and people that surrounded him and on the feelings that were found within him. He aimed to create art that challenged the viewer and resonated with his own personal world. Together with Lucian Freud, Bacon is considered the most important British painters of modern age, his paintings being among the world’s most valuable works of postwar art.

Bearing little physical resemblance to Freud, this portrait depicts Bacon’s friend, rival and fellow artist psychological essence. Study for Head of Lucian Freud is a sublime example of the duo’s intense mutual exploration, who sat for each other producing an astonishing set of intimate portraits. The triptych Three Studies of Lucian Freud that Bacon would paint two years later, fetching the record for the most expensive artwork ever bought at auction, would mark the end of their longstanding relationship.