Triptych, 1976 Painted by Francis Bacon
A new record for post war art was set as Francis Bacon’s Triptych, 1976 sold for USD86 million at a Sotheby’s auction in New York this year.
Francis bacon was born in Dublin in 1909 and died in Madrid in 1992.
The “Triptych” was painted by Francis Bacon in 1976. The two lateral panels depict a man whose oval head rests on a body that melts down into nondescript human fragments. In the central panels, ill defined body parts, possibly animal at the top and decidedly human in the lower area, hang down from the ceiling as if they made up some kind of chandelier.
Triptych, 1976 one of the most important works in Bacon’s oeuvre and a landmark of the 20th century canon. Triptych is one of the best and ranks among the greatest of Bacon’s paintings.
In Triptych, 1976, Bacon draws on Ancient Greek mythology to express his personal tragedy. In the central panel Bacon alludes to the legend of Prometheus, who as a punishment from Zeus is bound to a rock where his liver is perpetually devoured by an eagle. It is also modern day interpretation of Aeschylus’ famous trilogy The Orestia. To avenge the death of his father at the hands of his mother, Orestes commits matricide and is plagued by the three Furies, the manifestation of guilt.
Triptych, 1976 Painted by Francis Bacon
