Francis Bacon was born to English parents living in Ireland in 1909. He was a British figurative artist known for his audacious, grotesque and emotionally charged imagery. He travelled to Germany and France and then settled in London and began his art career as a self-taught artist. Taking inspiration from Surrealism, film, photography and the Old Masters, he created his own distinct style which made him one of the most acknowledged exponents of figurative art in the ’40s and ’50s. He always portrayed his subjects as viciously distorted and isolated persons who are suffering from existential problems.

‘Three Studies of Lucian Freud’ triptych (a panel painting that is divided into three sections), (1969), oil on canvas, 78 inches × 58 inches for each canvas, depicts fellow artist Lucian Freud. They were close friends but artistic rivals, and Bacon and Freud painted each other a number of times. The triptych is owned by Elaine Wynn and was sold for $142.4 million in November 2013, which at that time was the maximum price attained at an auction for an artwork. —M.Z.A

Published in Dawn, Sunday Magazine, May 29th, 2016