Francis BACON (1909-1992) Lot n° 86

Bullfight no. 1 (study), 1971 Color lithograph; signed lower right and numbered 109/150 lower left 49.5 x 45.25 in. - 126 x 115 cm.: In 1969, while he was living in London, Francis Bacon became interested in Corrida, or bullfighting, a rare theme throughout his oeuvre. Indeed he would only paint three canvases on the subject, including Etude pour une corrida n°2 which hangs today in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Lyon, France. The present lithograph was made after Etude pour une corrida n°1 1969. All three works boast very similar compositions in which brown shades prevail. The bull and the torero are isolated in a circular space, a set-up which the artist was especially fond of. The playful use of curves and counter-curves guides the viewers' eyes and invites them to step in and join the dance. These curves imbue the composition with a dynamic feel and mimic the spinning of the bull as it dodges the torero's attacks, all the while highlighting the violence of the scene. With so much going on in the foreground, the audience, crammed into a rather sadlooking cylindrical space taken over by greyish tones and disorder, almost goes unnoticed in the distance