Francis Bacon, Monaco and French Culture at the Grimaldi Forum in July

The exhibition “Francis Bacon, Monaco and French Culture” at the Grimaldi Forum Monaco for the Summer 2016 Exhibition, running from July 2nd to September 4th. Curated by Martin Harrison - author of the Francis Bacon Catalogue Raisonné - the exhibition will show over sixty works by the artist.

The work of Francis Bacon will be will be displayed thematically showing the relationships to the influence of French culture and the author's Monegasque period. The exhibition will also cross-reference major works of the masters who inspired Francis Bacon: Giacometti, Léger, Lurçat, Michaux, Soutine, Toulouse-Lautrec and others.

The works displayed come from public and private collections; Tate Britain and the Arts Council in London, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the Centre Pompidou, are among those public institutions lending paintings.

Francis Bacon - born in Dublin in 1909, died in Madrid in 1992, lived in London, Paris and Monaco – fell in love with French culture already during his first visit to Paris; in 1927, while spending time in Chantilly and learning French, he visited an exhibition at the Paul Rosenberg Gallery and encountered Picasso’s works which inspired him to take up painting. After leaving London, Bacon went to the Principality of Monaco in July 1946, where he lived until the early fifties. In Monaco he painted his first “pope”, mainly inspired by Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X, and began to concentrate his work on the human form. Time in Monaco was decisive in his career.

Bacon returned frequently to Monaco and the South of France, often with his London or Paris circle of friends. In 1974, he lived in a studio apartment in Paris, which he kept until 1984, where he painted many portraits of his Parisian friends, notably Michel Leiris and Jacques Dupin.

The exhibition is programmed to travel later to the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao from 30 September 2016 to 8 January 2017, focusing this time on the artist’s relationship with Spain.

This exhibition is the first major event organized by the newly founded Francis Bacon MB Art Foundation, the only non-profit institution in the world dedicated to Francis Bacon.

Exhibition from July 2nd  to September 4th, 2016

Espace Ravel du Grimaldi Forum Monaco: 10, avenue Princesse Grace - 98000 Monaco

Opening times: Daily from 10am to 8pm, Late night opening on Thursdays until 10pm

Website: www.grimaldiforum.com