Whom do you see when you look in the mirror?
Once selling for over $40 million at auction, “Figure Writing Reflected in Mirror” (1976), by Francis Bacon, debuted in Paris in 1977 and immediately received great praise. In it, the Dublin-born painter sought to portray the dual concepts of artistic process and insight in one of his most well-known works, on solo display at the Portland Art Museum through Sept. 2.
Whom do you see when you look in the mirror?
Once selling for over $40 million at auction, “Figure Writing Reflected in Mirror” (1976), by Francis Bacon, debuted in Paris in 1977 and immediately received great praise. In it, the Dublin-born painter sought to portray the dual concepts of artistic process and insight in one of his most well-known works, on solo display at the Portland Art Museum through Sept. 2.
The painting depicts a nude man with his back to the painter, hunched over a desk surrounded by crumpled bits of paper and reflected in a side mirror. The images are said to represent Bacon’s lamented lover George Dyer, who committed suicide on the day of one of Bacon’s exhibitions in 1971. The painting exhibits a search for identity, according to Northwest Film Center.
Bacon himself was famous for his abstract, figurative works that usually dealt with the human condition, life and death. He began painting in his mid-20s but did not produce any consistent work until his 30s, first earning a living as an interior decorator and a furniture designer.
His life was one of indulgence—gambling and drinking with a close circle of friends that included his lover and muse Dyer until his suicide. After Dyer’s death, Bacon distanced himself and began to paint darker works. Since his own death in 1992, his reputation has steadily grown.
“Figure Writing Reflected in Mirror” displays the desperation and gloom of an artist who has lost his way.
