Installation view: Reverse (2002-2003), Jenny Saville
Unsurprisingly for an exhibition about life painting, there is a lot of emotional angst, anguish and naked flesh (both male and female) on display in Tate Britain’s “All Too Human: Bacon, Freud and a Century
of Painting Life”. Covering over a
century of art making, along with Bacon and Freud, this exhibition also includes
a stellar supporting cast of artists, such as Walter Sickert, Frank Auerbach,
Euan Uglow and Jenny Saville.
Top: Nuit d'Ete (c.1906), Walter Sickert
Bottom: Polish Woman (c.1922), Chaim Soutine
As well as examining how Bacon and Freud moved beyond
naturalistic representation to capture ways in which they were affected by
their subjects, “All Too Human” also traces the influences, relationships and
connections between the ‘supporting cast’ of artists featured as well as redressing art
historical gender and ethnicity imbalances, with London as a backdrop where most of the artists have lived, studied and exhibited.
The influence of Chaim Soutine on Bacon and Stanley Spencer
on Freud are easily seen and there are some wonderful examples of their work in
the first gallery of the exhibition. Walter
Sickert is also included here. Sickert taught
David Bomberg, who taught William Coldstream and Frank Auerbach. Coldstream told Euan Uglow, Michael Andrews
and Paula Rego at the Slade School of Fine Art, where Freud was also a tutor. All these artists are included in the
exhibition and provide a fascinating contextual and visual narrative
throughout.
Top: Study for Portrait of Lucian Freud (1964), Francis Bacon
Bottom: David and Eli (2000-2004), Lucian Freud
Bacon’s monumental, solitary and angst-ridden figures undertaken
in the years following the Second World War in the second room are incredibly
powerful. Displayed on every wall and
circling Alberto Giacometti’s sculpture Woman
of Venice IX (1956), the
intensity of the anguish rendered in every raw brushstroke is almost
palpable. Even Bacon’s animal, as well
as human subjects featured, appear consumed with existentialist angst!
Clockwise: Study after Velazquez (1950), Francis Bacon ; Woman of Venice IX (1956), Alberto Giacometti;
Study of a Baboon (1953), Francis Bacon
Frances Bacon was nineteen years older the Lucien Freud and
their individual approaches to their subjects differed dramatically. Bacon’s models bear the artist’s inner
emotional turmoil and feelings towards them, particularly in the portraits
of his lover George Dyer. Bacon's series of portraits of Freud are fascinating. In contrast,
but by no means lacking in potency, Freud’s cold analytical gaze tore out and displayed
to the world the vulnerability of his sitters.
Top: Bella (1996), Lucian Freud
Bottom: Georgia (1973), Euan Uglow
Of all the naked flesh on display, only Freud’s naked
portrait of his daughter makes uncomfortable viewing. However, it is the clothed studies which are more characterful and offer the most interest. Of these, Freud’s Bella (1996) and Uglow’s
Georgia (1973) particularly stood
out for me. Two group compositions by
Michael Andrews, Colony Room I (1962)
and The Deer Park (1962), capture the artist’s group of friends in and
around Soho and act as a window into a world of creative and destructive
hedonism.
With the exception of one painting by Margaret Mead, two thirds of the exhibition are dominated by male artists, reflecting
how women’s lives and stories were often overlooked in art as a historically
male-dominated activity. Thankfully, as the
exhibition timeline progresses through to contemporary art practices, paintings
by the formidable Paula Rego are followed by a final room of the youngest of
artists featured. All women, thes artists demonstrate not only how their practice has been
influenced by their predecessors, but more importantly how this generation of female artists investigate and challenge stereotypical views on gender,
sexuality and race. Of course, the superb
Jenny Saville is featured, as is the wonderful Cecily Brown and both artist's gaze gaze and
skill with brush and paint are equally as intense as Bacon's and Freud's.
Top: Reclining Figure (c.1954), Margaret Mead
Middle: Colony Room I (1962), Michael Andrews
Bottom: The Deer Park (1962), Michael Andrews
The Company of Women (1997), Paula Rego
“All Too Human: Bacon, Freud and a Century of Painting Life”
is big, ambitious, intense and powerful exhibition. It demonstrates the enduring potency and possibilities
in exploring the human condition within artistic practice and is a
not-to-be-missed exhibition.
Top: Teenage Wildlife (2003), Cecily Brown
Bottom: Coterie of Questions (2015), Lynette Yiadom-Boakye
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