Three Studies for a Portrait of John Edwards 1984

Francis Bacon made this triptych of John Edwards using oil on canvas, and what strikes me is how the repeated image of the sitter reveals Bacon's process of exploring the possibilities of paint. In each panel, Edwards is captured in a slightly different pose, but it’s the surface of the paint that really grabs me. Notice how thin and transparent the paint is in places, almost like a watercolour wash. Then, suddenly, there are these areas of thicker impasto, especially around the face. It’s as if Bacon is building up the image through layers of veils and then disrupting it with these fleshy, sculptural marks. Look at the way he smears and distorts Edwards' features, pushing and pulling the paint to create this sense of unease and distortion. Bacon reminds me a lot of Gerhard Richter, who also explored the blurred boundaries between figuration and abstraction. Both artists embrace ambiguity, letting the painting become a space for experimentation and questioning.