Francis Bacon - In Memory of George Dyer

1971
Fondation Beyeler, Basel.

198 x 147,5 cm (each)
Oil on Canvas. Triptych

(click to enlarge)

A good picture must have energy enough at least to arouse curiosity. The darkest plot in Francis Bacon's life is brought into frames and, liking or disliking it, they certainly make you think: "what is behind that all?"

The disquieting triptych relates the very end of the exceptional alcoholic relationship between the painter himself and the once minor criminal George Dyer. Bacon, already famous when the story started, fully supported George, who would drink even more, grow sulkier and psychologically damaged till he takes his own life swallowing lots of sleeping pills in a hotel room in Paris.

This happening took place one evening before a memorable highlight in Bacons' career, his major retrospective in the Grand Palais, and ironies apart, the three-paneled picture turned out to be his masterpiece.


The first panel depicts the convulsed body of a man that transmits a confusing mix of agony and delight, an aerial structure crosses the frame, disappears in the middle, and continues in the closing, where the tragedy acts as a surreal blend of minimal melodrama and venturous composition. At the center a figure interweaves its own shadow, while the conspiracy is reinforced by a naked arm reaching up from nothing to insert a key in the lock.

Some say the artist might have planned his lover's death, since he tried to keep physical distance buying him a cottage in Kent, have shown no emotion when the concierge gave him the terrible news and because all the turbulence around the destructive affair. Others claim that Francis always loved George, rescued him from killing himself twice and felt guilty for his suicide until his own death. Either way, nobody will ever know.