Francis Bacon the prominent British artist has earned his place amongst the outstanding postwar artists and his ‘Crouching Nude’ which he painted in 1961 is considered one of the highlights of his artistic career. It is one of his large scale paintings and is appreciated for the ominous and brooding atmosphere it creates. This masterpiece, which is oil on canvas, was painted at the height of his impassioned affair with a former World War Two fighter pilot. The female model in the celebrated painting has a distorted figure and is grinning grotesquely.
The painting will be going under the hammer for the first time this June at the Sotheby’s auction house. The pre sales estimates done by the experts put the price range in the vicinity of $15 million. Oliver Barker of auctioneers Sotheby’s believes that this magnificent painting was produced during the most important phase in the artist’s career. This work is the true representative of the remarkable method of the artist’s working. It has an elusive mystery about it that will attract the discerning collectors from across the globe.
Bacon did not use live models normally for painting. He instead relied on photographs, clippings or simply his memory for inspiration. Bacon had an intense relationship with Peter Lacy who was a World War II pilot. He is considered one such muse for the artist till he died in 1962 due to excessive drinking. Bacon came to know about the death through a telegram just before his retrospective in 1962. This important painting had first been displayed in the 90 work traveling retrospective which opened at the Tate Gallery in May 1962 and it was showcased as one of Bacon’s most recent and striking paintings. The auction will take place in Sotheby’s London, on June 29.
Via: reuters, news.yahoo
