Edition of 150, 5 H.C. (Hors Commerce) proofs. The numbering is only on the colophon of Miroir de la Tauromachie with Arabic numbering. The 5 H.C. with Roman numbering. Each lithograph is not therefore numbered individually, however, each sheet is individually signed.


Francis Bacon’s after Study for Bullfight no.2 (1969) (Right panel) is a powerful meditation on mortality, violence, and the human condition. Drawing on Michel Leiris’ intellectual fascination with bullfighting, Bacon transforms the spectacle of the bullring into a deeply symbolic and existential work of art. Bacon and Leiris use the bullfight as a metaphor for how human identity is shaped by external pressures—social, cultural, and existential—and how these pressures can easily lead to collapse or transformation. For them, the ritualised confrontation with death, the fragile construction of identity, and the ongoing struggle between order and chaos are all central aspects of the human experience. This precarious yet flamboyant dance between life and death within a bullfight becomes a concentrated symbol of what it means to live, to face mortality, and to attempt to impose meaning on a chaotic world.

Inspired by the painting of the same title in the collection of a private collection in Switzerland.

For further information please visit the Francis Bacon Estate page: https://www.francis-bacon.com/artworks/paintings/study-bullfight-no-1