FRANCIS BACON Georges Cyclist (No Border), 1995

Francis Bacon (1909–1992) was an Irish-born British painter known for his bold, expressive figurative work. His style featured thick paint, energetic brushstrokes, and distorted, abstracted forms, creating emotionally intense imagery. Initially an interior decorator and gambler, he turned to painting in his late 30s. His breakthrough came with the 1944 triptych Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, cementing his reputation as a stark chronicler of the human condition. Common subjects included friends, drinking companions, crucifixions, and popes. After his 1949 solo show, critic Wyndham Lewis praised him as "one of the most powerful artists in Europe today."