This guide will lead you through our exhibition
Francis Bacon: A Terrible Beauty. There’s
lots of interesting things to look at and new
discoveries to be made. Don’t forget to get
some paper and crayons from reception, as
we’ll be asking you to make some drawings
of your own along the way!
GROUND FLOOR
Francis Bacon A Terrible Beauty
Permanent Collection
Eadweard Muybridge
Eadweard Muybridge was the first
person to photograph humans and
animals in motion. In this picture
you can see every movement of the
parrot’s wings. The feathers look
different in every photo!
7 Reece Mews
What can you see in these
photographs by Perry Ogden?
Do you notice anything funny
about his bathroom for example?
Even though he was an extremely
successful artist later in life, Bacon
never left his small studio in 7
Reece Mews, London!
Why not carefully copy some of
the movements that you can see
in these images? What do you
think the person is doing in the
picture you have chosen? Are they
running, wrestling or perhaps doing
gymnastics?
05
Corpus
Francis Bacon was interested
in so many different things!
He kept images of children
playing on the street, medicine
books, books on sports and
animals and books on many
other subjects. All these images
caught his imagination and
he used lots of them in his
paintings.
John Deakin
George Dyer and Isabel
Rawsthorne were very close
friends of Francis Bacon, can
you find photos of them in this
room? Look what Bacon did with
this photograph of George Dyer!
He cut his profile out and used it
as a stencil.
Make a list of all the different
activities that are included in this
room that inspired the artist?
08
07
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Over 7,000 items were found in
the studio. Look how untidy it is!
Bacon said that he was inspired
by everything he saw. When he
went into his studio different
images would stand out to him
from all the objects on the floor.
These images would somehow
be included in his paintings.
Did you know that Francis Bacon
even used the dust from his
studio in his paintings?
See if you can find the following
items in the studio:
• paint tubes & pots
• paint brushes
• tin cans
• jars
•canvases – this is the material
that an artist uses to paint on
•easels – an easel is used by
an artist to place the canvas on
when painting
• a red and blue striped bathrobe
• a book about the artist Velàzquez
06
Why not discover more about
the studio by using the touch
screens in this room?
Francis Bacon’s studio, which is
permanently on display in this
Gallery, used to be in London.
After the artist died his heir,
John Edwards, gave the studio
to Dublin City Gallery The Hugh
Lane. Everything was packed
very carefully and all the brushes,
paint tubes and canvases got
numbers – so nothing
could get lost!
03
Continue upstairs
Slashed Canvases
Over 100 slashed canvases were
found in the studio. Bacon was
very critical of his work. When he
did not like a painting, he would
destroy it!
04
Fill the gaps of the slashed canvas
on the extra sheets provided!
Reception
10
This archaeological photo of the
studio was taken so we could
remember exactly where things
were placed. With the help of
photographs and drawings the
studio was pieced back together
again, a bit like a jigsaw.
Colour in the archaeological drawing
included so it matches the photo
above.
02
01
Cinema
Francis Bacon loved painting and
using lots of bright colours. He also
liked watching movies. Here’s what
he said about them:
‘You know, I’ve often said to myself
that I would have liked to have
been a film director if I hadn’t
been a painter.’
Bacon: Childhood
On 28 October 1909 Francis Bacon
was born in Dublin. This exhibition
celebrates the artist’s 100th
birthday. The photos in this room
show the artist growing up in
Co Kildare. Bacon became one
of the most famous painters of
the 1900’s. Bacon died in 1992,
but today we can still see his
paintings in galleries around
the world!
START
HERE
Untitled (Sea), 1954
The Estate of Francis Bacon
Francis Bacon usually painted
humans or animals, this is
called figurative painting.
Can you detect a figure in
this painting? There is nobody
on the beach! But isn’t
the splashing of the water
interesting? Images of diving
sea birds flying over the surface
of the water might have inspired
Bacon to paint this.
FIRST FLOOR
Francis Bacon A Terrible Beauty
Head III, 1961
Private Collection
Although called Head III, this
portrait is of Peter Lacy, a close
friend of Bacon. This portrait
shows Peter Lacy with his head
resting on his hand. Usually in
Bacon’s portraits (like the one
of Henrietta Moraes) he did not
include the hand.
PUBLICATION
Always remember not to touch the artworks. Even clean
hands damage the delicate surfaces of paintings, frames,
sculptures and stained glass. Did you know that your
fingerprint leaves behind an oily mark that is invisible to the
eye when you touch something? The oil from your fingerprint
can damage artworks over time, so it is important to keep
a safe distance and stand back from the artwork you’re
looking at.
14
Study for a Portrait of
John Edwards, 1989
Private Collection
This portrait shows the artist’s
friend John Edwards seated on
a chair, wearing a white shirt.
The background of the painting
is painted entirely in pink.
What feelings do you think this
shows?
And don’t forget
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13
Head of a Woman, 1960
Private Collection
Head of a Woman was painted
in 1960 and shows a lady called
Mary ‘Boots’ Redgrave, who was
the wife of the artist William
Redgrave. What do you think of
the colour he has used for her
face? Do you think this is natural?
Bacon was interested in medical
books, especially those on skin
diseases. In this picture he shows
this woman with a skin disease.
Have you come accross pages from
these books in the exhibition? Do
you think you would have liked an
artist to paint your portrait and add
a skin disease? Eugh!!
Francis Bacon: A Terrible Beauty
is published by Steidl.
On sale for €18.
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Written by Katy Fitzpatrick and Katharina Günther
quiet
t: + 353 1 222 5564
noisy f: + 353 1 872 2182
thoughtful
Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane
interesting Charlemont House
colourful
e: [email protected]
dark
w: www.hughlane.ie
sad
Parnell Square North
Art and Artists
Look at all these books and
pages of paintings, drawings
and sculptures! Bacon didn’t go
to art school, instead he taught
himself. He used these books
and images to help him learn.
He owned books about Picasso,
Rembrandt and Velàzquez,
who were famous painters
themselves. Bacon wanted to
be as good as them!
happy
Dublin 1
CONTINUE
HERE
What do you think this person
is feeling?
Circle the words that you think
describe this painting:
Ireland
Study for a Figure, 1944/45
P. Simon Family Collection
Isn’t this a strange figure? Is
it a human being or a bird?
Does it have no arms? What
is the creature wearing? What
is it sitting on? And don’t
think that grown-ups always
know all the answers! Some
of Francis Bacon’s paintings
are like a riddle without a
solution. But it’s still fun to
think about what it might be!!
Find another portrait of John Edwards
and compare the following:
Size, Colour, Texture, Mood/Feelings.
15
Draw like Picasso! Use all
the features of a head (nose,
mouth, eyes, eyebrows, ears,
hair) and reassemble them in
a different order. You can also
draw them first, then cut them
out and put them back together
in an unusual order, like Bacon
and Picasso did. (you can use
the sheets of paper that you
collected from reception for
this drawing)
16
Bacon’s Chronicle & Hand-written Notes.
Untitled (Self-Portrait), 1992
These unfinished works that were found
in the artists studio help us to understand
how Bacon worked. Untitled (SelfPortrait) was found on the artist’s easel
after his death in April 1992. This would
have been the last painting that Bacon
was working on. Do you recognise who
he might have been painting from the
photographs you have seen already?
In this room, you will find pictures of
Bacon and his friends, including other
artists and his sister Ianthe Knott. See
if you can find out who is who.
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Finish the Velàzquez painting
on the sheet provided! What do
you imagine the rest of the girl’s
face looks like?
17
Sketches
What a funny creature! How
many legs does it have? Where
is its head? Sometimes before
Bacon began to paint on the
large canvases he made little
drawings like this to test out
his ideas.
Using the extra sheets that you have
collected from reception, make your
own drawing. Then when you are
finished you can go back into the
room with the unfinished paintings
and add some colour to create your
own unique unfinished painting!!
Perhaps when you go home you can
use some paints to finish the artwork.
Peter Beard
Aren’t these little baby cheetahs
adorable? When they grow up
they can run faster than any
other animal or human on earth.
They live in Africa, where Peter
Beard took lots of photographs
of wildlife.
Archival Material: Collection Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane.
All images: © The Estate of Francis Bacon. All rights reserved / DACS, London 2009.
28 October 2009 — 7 March 2010
Dublin City Gallery The Hugh Lane