Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon revolutionised figurative painting in the 20th century. The English painter unmasked his subjects in a provocative and ruthless manner. Deformed bodies, grimacing faces and the materiality of colour make us aware of brutality and sexuality, existential abysses and the fears of existence.

Works like the portrait Pope Innocent X from Velazquez inspired him just as much as Eisenstein's epic film 'The Battleship Potemkin' for his famous motif: the Scream. Author Melvyn Bragg accompanies the painter throughout his day. This begins in his London atelier, leads us on to his favourite pub and ends up in a gambling club in Soho.