The Eternal Bacon is Back at the Royal Academy

Two Figures, 1953, Francis Bacon. Photo credit Lorenzo Belenguer. Courtesy The Estate of Francis Bacon.

The figurative painter Francis Bacon is eternal because the beast qualities, the reptilian brain which occasionally takes over, are an intrinsic part of being a human. Bacon was born in 1909 and lived through three wars: First World War, Irish War of Independence and Second World War. It hardened his view on humans capable of committing atrocities, especially when the survival instinct kicks in. He loved…