after Self-Portrait (1973) full sheet
after Self-Portrait (1973) framed
Francis Bacon
after Self-Portrait (1973), 1976
Lithograph in colours on Arches paper
Image: 85 × 63.5 cm. 33 1/2 x 25 in.
Sheet: 102 × 72.5 cm. 40 x 28 1/2 in.
Sheet: 102 × 72.5 cm. 40 x 28 1/2 in.
Edition of 180 with Arabic numbering, together with a number of E.A. (Artist's Proofs)
Signed in purple felt-tip pen lower right; numbered in pencil lower left
Excellent condition
Framed
Excellent condition
Framed
From the edition of 180 numbered in Arabic numerals, together with a number of épreuves d’artiste. Signed in purple felt-tip pen lower right and numbered in pencil lower left. Created...
From the edition of 180 numbered in Arabic numerals, together with a number of épreuves d’artiste. Signed in purple felt-tip pen lower right and numbered in pencil lower left.
Created in 1977, after Self-Portrait (1973) translates one of Francis Bacon’s most important self-images into lithography. The print was published by Galerie Claude Bernard for Bacon’s celebrated Paris exhibition of that year and printed by Mourlot. Its source was the monumental painting Self-Portrait of 1973, now in a private collection and recorded in the artist’s catalogue raisonné as 73-10.
Bacon depicts himself seated at the centre of a sharply constructed interior, his body compressed into a curved chair with his knees and feet drawn closely together. A black shirt anchors the figure against a pale violet panel, while grey trousers, striped shoes and a vivid yellow wristwatch introduce contrasting areas of tone and colour. The face is displaced through overlapping curves and shadowed passages, disrupting a stable likeness while retaining Bacon’s distinctive physiognomy. A dark vertical form, curved furniture and a fragment of transferred lettering establish the surrounding room as a psychologically charged but deliberately ambiguous space.
Printed in colours on a large sheet of Arches paper, the lithograph preserves both the architectural clarity and the instability of Bacon’s painted composition. Broad, controlled fields of colour define the room and its furnishings, while subtler tonal transitions model the folded body and distorted face. The precision of the lithographic process gives the image a different physical character from the source painting, yet retains the tension between flat geometric space and mutable human form that is fundamental to Bacon’s work.
The image belongs to a period in which Bacon returned with increasing frequency to his own likeness, particularly during the years following the death of George Dyer in 1971. Rather than presenting identity as fixed or self-assured, Bacon constructs the self as something unstable, altered by perception, memory and the passage of time. Through its close relationship with the 1973 painting and the landmark Galerie Claude Bernard exhibition, after Self-Portrait occupies an important position within the artist’s graphic work and his sustained examination of the vulnerable human figure.
A detailed condition report is available upon request.
Created in 1977, after Self-Portrait (1973) translates one of Francis Bacon’s most important self-images into lithography. The print was published by Galerie Claude Bernard for Bacon’s celebrated Paris exhibition of that year and printed by Mourlot. Its source was the monumental painting Self-Portrait of 1973, now in a private collection and recorded in the artist’s catalogue raisonné as 73-10.
Bacon depicts himself seated at the centre of a sharply constructed interior, his body compressed into a curved chair with his knees and feet drawn closely together. A black shirt anchors the figure against a pale violet panel, while grey trousers, striped shoes and a vivid yellow wristwatch introduce contrasting areas of tone and colour. The face is displaced through overlapping curves and shadowed passages, disrupting a stable likeness while retaining Bacon’s distinctive physiognomy. A dark vertical form, curved furniture and a fragment of transferred lettering establish the surrounding room as a psychologically charged but deliberately ambiguous space.
Printed in colours on a large sheet of Arches paper, the lithograph preserves both the architectural clarity and the instability of Bacon’s painted composition. Broad, controlled fields of colour define the room and its furnishings, while subtler tonal transitions model the folded body and distorted face. The precision of the lithographic process gives the image a different physical character from the source painting, yet retains the tension between flat geometric space and mutable human form that is fundamental to Bacon’s work.
The image belongs to a period in which Bacon returned with increasing frequency to his own likeness, particularly during the years following the death of George Dyer in 1971. Rather than presenting identity as fixed or self-assured, Bacon constructs the self as something unstable, altered by perception, memory and the passage of time. Through its close relationship with the 1973 painting and the landmark Galerie Claude Bernard exhibition, after Self-Portrait occupies an important position within the artist’s graphic work and his sustained examination of the vulnerable human figure.
A detailed condition report is available upon request.
Publications
Bruno Sabatier, Francis Bacon, The Graphic Work, no. 12Alexandre Tacou, Francis Bacon, Estampes, no. 7
50
de
61
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