- Hardcover: 272 pages
- Publisher: Thames and Hudson (Sep 28 2000)
- Language: English
- ISBN-10: 0500019940
- ISBN-13: 978-0500019948
- Product Dimensions: 27.7 x 22.4 x 2.8 cm
- Shipping Weight: 1.5 Kg
- Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Amazon Bestsellers Rank:
#765,320 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #18 in Books > Arts & Photography > Artists, A-Z > ( A-C ) > Bacon, Francis
- See Complete Table of Contents
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Product Details |
Product Description
Product Description
Controversial in both life and art, Francis Bacon was one of the most important painters of the twentieth century. His monumental, unsettling images have an extraordinary power to disturb, shock, and haunt the spectator, "to unlock the valves of feeling and therefore return the onlooker to life more violently".
Eminent writer and curator David Sylvester provides the definitive account of the career of an artist whose friend and collaborator he was for more than forty years. Drawing on his unparalleled personal knowledge of Bacon's inspirations and intentions, he first offers a critical overview of the development of Bacon's work from 1933 to the early 1990s, and then addresses its crucial aspects. Sylvester also reproduces previously unpublished extracts from his celebrated conversations with Bacon in which the artist speaks about himself, modern painters, and the art of the past. Finally, he gives a brief account of Bacon's life, correcting errors that elsewhere have been presented as facts.
Accompanying the incisive and revealing text are reproductions of almost every Bacon work discussed, including twelve triptych fold-outs. The most complete work on Bacon yet, this book constitutes a portrait of one of the creative geniuses of our age by a writer of comparable distinction.
About the Author
David Sylvester first wrote about Bacon's work in the late 1940s, and the pair soon became close friends. Over the next forty years, he was Bacon's Boswell, interpreter, confidant, occasional model, and sometimes agent. His many books include Interviews with Francis Bacon, Looking at Giacometti, and About Modern Art: Critical Essays 1948-97.
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Most helpful customer reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Through the glass, brightly,
By
This review is from: Looking Back At Francis Bacon (Hardcover)
Few artists of the 20th century have engendered as much controversy while having such an enormous impact on coming to grips with personal demons on canvas as Francis Bacon. Once again the erudite scholar David Sylvester has written about his friend in a way that makes all other collections of images and gossips about Bacon pale in comparison. This book is a true "retrospective", not only because if can look at the entire output of this enormously gifted painter, but it puts Bacon in a perspective of comparison and study of influences that span all of art history. Sylvester manages all this with his usual eloquence of writing style. This book is an academic treatise, but is is also a biography that looks carefully and thoughtfully at the mad mind and paintings of Francis Bacon. Highly recommended for Bacon devotees as well as those who still seek to understand the past century's art journey.
5.0 out of 5 stars
Looking Back At Francis Bacon,
By Christopher A. Carlos (San Francisco) - See all my reviews
This review is from: Looking Back At Francis Bacon (Hardcover)
A truly excellent addition to any art enthusiast's collection of artists' books and mongraphs. This piece is a must-have for any fan of the artist's work...it fills in quite a few holes regarding Bacon in relation to his work and his working process. Even if you are unfamiliar with the artist's work, you will find Sylvester's prose will easily entice you into taking a good long look at one man's dark, yet triumphant take on humanity and the world we live in. Brilliant!
Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta) Amazon.com:
5.0 out of 5 stars (2 customer reviews) 7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Through the glass, brightly,
By Grady Harp - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Looking Back At Francis Bacon (Hardcover)
Few artists of the 20th century have engendered as much controversy while having such an enormous impact on coming to grips with personal demons on canvas as Francis Bacon. Once again the erudite scholar David Sylvester has written about his friend in a way that makes all other collections of images and gossips about Bacon pale in comparison. This book is a true "retrospective", not only because if can look at the entire output of this enormously gifted painter, but it puts Bacon in a perspective of comparison and study of influences that span all of art history. Sylvester manages all this with his usual eloquence of writing style. This book is an academic treatise, but is is also a biography that looks carefully and thoughtfully at the mad mind and paintings of Francis Bacon. Highly recommended for Bacon devotees as well as those who still seek to understand the past century's art journey.
6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Looking Back At Francis Bacon,
By Christopher A. Carlos - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Looking Back At Francis Bacon (Hardcover)
A truly excellent addition to any art enthusiast's collection of artists' books and mongraphs. This piece is a must-have for any fan of the artist's work...it fills in quite a few holes regarding Bacon in relation to his work and his working process. Even if you are unfamiliar with the artist's work, you will find Sylvester's prose will easily entice you into taking a good long look at one man's dark, yet triumphant take on humanity and the world we live in. Brilliant!
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