Second Version, Triptych 1944

Francis Bacon’s famous first iteration of this subject, Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, circa 1944 (Tate, London) was first exhibited at the end of the World War II. Referencing an altarpiece, Bacon has replaced Christ’s grieving disciples with three screaming beasts identified as the Eumenides, the vengeful furies of Greek mythology. In the aftermath of war, the painting reflected the horror and depravity of a world seemingly beyond redemption. In 1988 Bacon revisited the subject in paint in Second Version of Triptych 1944 (Tate, London), this time with a backdrop of blood red. He also authorized two lithographic editions including this almost life-size version created as a homage to the French composer and conductor Pierre Boulez (1925-2016), in a limited edition of thirty. Another version, much reduced in scale, was published in an edition of sixty.