THE FRANCIS BACON STUDIO AT THE HUGH LANE GALLERY, DUBLIN
"I feel at home here in this chaos because
chaos suggests images to me. And in any case I just love living
in chaos."
Francis Bacon on 7 Reece Mews
Francis Bacon (1909-1992) was
born in Dublin and is celebrated as one of the most important
artists of the 20th century. 7 Reece Mews in South Kensington,
London was the artist's home and legendary working space for
the last thirty years of his life and it was here that Bacon
produced some of his best work.
In 1998, John Edwards, Bacon's sole heir, generously
donated the entire contents of Francis Bacon's studio at 7 Reece
Mews to the Hugh Lane Gallery, Dublin. This remarkable donation
is the most important received by the Gallery since it was established
by Sir Hugh Lane in 1908.
Francis Bacon lived and worked in 7 Reece Mews,
South Kensington, London from 1961 until his death in 1992.
The studio / residence was one of a short row of converted coach
houses on a quiet cobble-stoned lane. The house was small and
utilitarian in layout. The ground floor was almost entirely
occupied by a large garage where Bacon kept surplus items from
the studio. An extremely steep wooden staircase, with a rope
for a handrail, led to a landing. On the left was Bacon's spartan
bed-living room. Ahead was an eccentric kitchen-cum-bathroom.
To the right was the studio, the most important room in the
artist's life. Bacon said himself of his cluttered studio, "I
feel at home here in this chaos because chaos suggests images
to me." Bacon rarely painted from life and the heaps of torn
photographs, fragments of illustrations, books, catalogues,
magazines and newspapers provided nearly all of his visual sources.
Some of the most significant studio items include seventy works
on paper and one hundred slashed canvases. The vast array of
artist's materials, household paint pots, used and unused paint
tubes, paint brushes, cut-off ends of corduroy trousers and
cashmere sweaters record the diversity of Bacon's techniques.
It is from here that Bacon's stature grew into that of the pre-eminent
figurative painter of the late 20th century. While Bacon occasionally
looked for a new, grander place to work, he continually returned
to this awkward but familiar room.
The Hugh Lane Gallery removed the contents of Francis Bacon's
studio at 7 Reece Mews in August 1998. This operation was conducted
with the assistance of a team of archaeologists who mapped the
space, and tagged and noted the positions of the objects. The
reconstructed studio features the original door, walls, floors,
ceiling and shelves. Over 7,000 items were found in the studio
and these were catalogued on a specially designed database before
their replacement in the studio. The Francis Bacon Studio Database
is the first computerised archive of the entire contents of
a world ranking artist's studio. Every item in the studio has
a database entry. Each entry consists of an image and a factual
account of an object. The database has entries on approximately
570 books and catalogues, 1,500 photographs, 100 slashed canvases,
1,300 leaves torn from books, 2,000 artist's materials and 70
drawings. Other categories include the artist's correspondence,
magazines, newspapers and vinyl records.
The Hugh Lane has now reconstructed the studio
in Dublin in new spaces designed by leading British architect
David Chipperfield. The studio is supported by an Audio Visual
room, an Exhibition Gallery and a Micro Gallery is the definitive
archive of one of the finest figurative artists ever and one
of the greatest European painters of the twentieth century.
The database of over 7000 items is the most detailed and technically
advanced archive of any artist's studio in the world.
This exceptional and undisputed archive of
Francis Bacon comprises over 7000 items including 80 works on
paper, approximately 1,500 photographs by John Deakin, Peter
Beard and Henri Cartier-Bresson among others, books and slashed
canvases.
This archival material has been entered on
a specially designed database. The Micro Gallery provides the
visitor unique access to highlights of this archive. In the
Exhibition Gallery a remarkable exhibition of unfinished paintings
will accompany the launch of the studio. Their unfinished state
provides a singular insight into the artist's process and technique.
The Hugh Lane Gallery appointed a team of archaeologists
and conservators to painstakingly catalogue and remove the entire
studio contents. The reconstructed studio features the original
walls, floor, ceiling and shelves as well as the famous wooden
staircase. "The acquisition of Francis Bacon's studio was a
great coup and its retrieval and documentation has confirmed
our suspicions we have the definitive archive on Francis
Bacon. The Gallery's innovative approach to retrieving and documenting
the contents has resulted in a database of information which
will be crucial in critical analysis of Francis Bacon's work",
says Barbara Dawson, Director of the Hugh Lane Gallery.
More Information:
The
Hugh Lane Municipal Gallery
An
archaeological account of the project
Images, text courtesy Hugh Lane Gallery
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