The artist's studio is his portrait.
“In 1998, Hugh Lane Gallery Director Barbara Dawson secured the donation of Francis Bacon's studio from the artist's heir … In the August of that year, the Francis Bacon’s legendary studio was relocated from 7 Reece Mews, London to Dublin in 1998 and now is permanently on display in the Hugh Lane Gallery. ...” [online] At: https://youtu.be/DpvffyFouXY?si=McM_VQIin182lYjk (Accessed 03.11.2023)
Barbara Dawson shares her impressions from 1997 of her first visit to Bacon's studio in London. The intensity of the place, the paint smells and the chaos, it was like looking inside the artist's head. The accumulation of photographs, and magazine clippings on a variety of topics was all part of the creative process. Here Barbara draws a parallel between this studio and his work - an intense, rich and bold mix of sensations.
I agree with these comments. Although it may feel dirty and disorganized, I understand that this is not entirely true. Francis Bacon on the BaZi (Chinese metaphysics) chart was the strong Yin Metal and the Rooster. Such people are extremely organized and meticulous. A special feature of this personality chart is extreme self-confidence but sometimes to the point of overkill and slowness, stiffness and stagnation. Therefore, I assume that a person of thirty years was able to work in a cluttered space of 6 by 4 meters because he felt comfortable and cosy in such a slow space. This is where his nature and thought process converge for me. He brings new ideas into the studio in the form of photographs, etc., they intertwine and overlap each other. And we see such mixing on his canvases. The background penetrates the figure, the figure penetrates the objects, one idea is superimposed on another.
Francis Bacon, Study for a Portrait 1952, oil and sand on canvas, 66.1 x 56.1 cm © Estate of Francis Bacon, all rights reserved, DACS 2016 [online] At: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/francis-bacon-682/who-is-francis-bacon (Accessed 03.11.2023)
At the same time, until 1992, the artist continued to work in the same way - with paints on a flat surface (canvas). There is no constant search for something new, no involvement of new materials. It was enough for the artist to explore the inner state of a person through the once-chosen method of work. And this again proves that artists do not always need to be sculptors, photographers, writers and performers, but rather have a deep understanding of one chosen topic. Francis Bacon simply could not change some things, or experiment, or be an adventurer, he did not have the potential for this due to the kind of person he was, but he had the will to achieve mastery through years of constant monotonous work.
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