Francis Bacon (1909 - 1992)
Title: Tryptych 1986/1987
Medium: Three etchings and aquatints in colours,1986 , on Arches paper, with full margins, signed by the artist in pencil
Edition: From the edition of 99. These are numbered as follows:
There were also 15 artists proofs and a number of HC copies.
Left Panel : (Woodrow Wilson) 15/99
Central Panel: John Edwards 80/99
Right Panel : Trotskys Desk 58/99
Literature:
Francis Bacon: Estampes - collection Alexandre Tacou Number 22
Bruno Sabatier, Francis Bacon: The Graphic Work, no. 6
Miguel Orozco “The complete prints of Francois Bacon” 51, 52 & 53
Note: The left hand panel depicts President Woodrow Wilson (Orozco 51). The prototype was an old press cutting.
The Central panel is a portrait of John Edwards - The artists long term lover and muse
The right hand panel is after a photograph of Trotskys Study in Mexico taken after his murder. Bacon depicts the desk belonging to the assassinated Russian political figure, Trotsky. Murdered with an icepick in Mexico by a Spanish-born Soviet agent acting on Stalin's orders, Trotsky's body is draped in a bloodstained shroud. Although alluding to the violence of the act—eyewitnesses attested to Trotsky grappling with the assassin and even spitting in his face—the portrayal of the desk also alludes to the legacy of work that a great man leaves behind. When Bacon made this signed limited edition he was just five years before his own death, and clearly in contemplative mood.
Printed & Published by: Poligrafa, Barcelona, Spain
Size: Paper size: 89.5 × 62.5 cms; Image Size: 65.2 x 48.6 cms; Framed size 89 x 115 cms
