Francis Bacon - Human Presence

Catalogue of the exhibition Francis Bacon. Human Presence, presented at the Fondation Pierre Gianadda, Martigny, Switzerland (14 February - 8 June 2025).

Through some thirty major works and fine photographic portraits by Francis Bacon (1909-1992), the exhibition offers an immersive journey into his convulsive and tormented universe.

Bacon not only painted bodies, he also captured the “living flesh” of the soul, revealing in each distortion a universal truth: that of a life marked by the violence of desire, suffering and the ineluctable passage of time.

Structured in five distinct sections (The Appearance of Portraits. Beyond appearance. Paintings inspired by the Masters. Self-portraits. Friends and Lovers), the presentation follows a chronological and thematic itinerary through his favourite subjects: the deconstruction of the portrait, the dialogue with the Old Masters, the self-portrait as introspection and the portraits of friends and lovers, fragments of his tumultuous life.