On February 22, 2020, for our series Voices on Art, in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Art This Week Productions filmed this talk by Didier Ottinger, curator and deputy director, Musée National d’art moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris. This talk was filmed in conjunction with the exhibition, Francis Bacon: Late Paintings, on view at the museum through January 20, 2020.
From the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston website–”Acclaimed as one of the 20th century’s greatest figurative artists, Francis Bacon created many of his most reductive and eloquent paintings in the final decades of his career. Drawing on his own life and taking inspiration from literary sources that spanned more than two millennia, Bacon reflected upon the unique character of his era and the timeless concerns that have shaped the human condition.
Didier Ottinger, curator of the landmark survey Francis Bacon: Late Paintings, which opened last fall at the Centre Pompidou in Paris, delves into Bacon’s literary sources. This talk explores the ways in which Bacon demonstrated his appreciation of Greek tragedy, Western philosophy, and the writings of contemporaries such as T.S. Eliot, through paintings that remain urgent and immediate today.
Thanks to Didier for allowing us to film the talk. Thanks also to the MFAH staff, especially Trey Ferguson, for their help recording this talk.