From 1928 to 1930, a very young Francis Bacon worked in London, Paris and Berlin, designing interiors and pieces of furniture.
I found a picture of his interior work – just one picture, and what a thrill to see it. When he was 19, his studio in South Kensington was featured in an interiors magazine in a piece entitled “The 1930 Look in British Decoration” – article recently posted in the Telegraph.
He was only 19 years old! Can you see how the shapes in the interior design are similar to the shapes that would later be in his paintings?
First Paintings… I Mean Rugs
Have you ever seen early Francis Bacon paintings? The awkward in-between steps in artistic skill and style that every artist has to take when they are becoming themselves? What did Bacon paint before he was when he was Francis Bacon? You probably haven’t seen his early works, because as soon as Bacon found his style he destroyed them all. …Well, almost all of them. He left these rugs, and a watercolor. Rugs. Yes, rugs. When Bacon was an interior designer, he had a few rugs made. Though he wanted to destroy them like his other earlier work, his clients begged him not to. Like a thief who was vain enough to leave a clue, these rugs show us a piece of the artist he was before he was Francis Bacon.
He should have destroyed them so I couldn’t be reposting them now. Here they are, rugs designed by Francis Bacon.
Evidently Bacon was influenced by other designers at the time, though he neglected to give them credit. Take a look at this comparison of rugs posted by Mariano Akerman.
First Known Painting
Below, Watercolour (1929), is Francis Bacon’s earliest surviving painting. It appears to have evolved from rug designs, with cubism stirred in. (Cubism began in 1907, and had matured by 1918.)
Here’s another painting from 1929-1930. This one has a door! Doors would become a common theme in Francis Bacon’s later paintings. Clearly he hasn’t quite figured out how to paint yet, but it’s there. You can see it coming. Isn’t that exciting?
There it is. The inception of Bacon. What do you think?
Minakata Kumagusu (1867 – 1941) was a Japanese author, biologist, and ethnologist. In his study of fungi, Minakata collected and drew thousands of mycological illustrations. Here are a few excerpts from his beautiful and informative sketchbooks. He discovered a new slime mold from all this sketching. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
Doorzien – a Dutch word translated as “to see through.” In dutch art, doorzien referred to a painting that showed a view from one room into another, making the picture especially beautiful. I wish I knew what movie it was, but some time long ago I was in a college film class. The instructor showed us …
[image_with_animation image_url=”10122″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Mahala Mrozek, Quick Time New Participants for Week 2! The SAL Challenge is growing! Happy creatives have been posting work all over the everywhere on Facebook and Instagram pages. You can look for them by searching for #salchallenge and #seattleartistleague. Great stuff! Artworks I found were by Margot Booth, Madeline Mimi Torchia Boothby, …
Above: A beautiful example of multi-layered blending by Sharon Kingston Blending The most common way to kill the vitality in a painting, blending is a smooth transition between two colors, painted when wet. This is difficult to do with acrylic because it dries so danged fast, so using a slow drying paint like Golden OPEN Acrylics might help. 3 Blending …
Francis Bacon was an Interior Designer
The 1930 Look in British Decoration
From 1928 to 1930, a very young Francis Bacon worked in London, Paris and Berlin, designing interiors and pieces of furniture.
I found a picture of his interior work – just one picture, and what a thrill to see it. When he was 19, his studio in South Kensington was featured in an interiors magazine in a piece entitled “The 1930 Look in British Decoration” – article recently posted in the Telegraph.
First Paintings… I Mean Rugs
Have you ever seen early Francis Bacon paintings? The awkward in-between steps in artistic skill and style that every artist has to take when they are becoming themselves? What did Bacon paint before he was when he was Francis Bacon? You probably haven’t seen his early works, because as soon as Bacon found his style he destroyed them all. …Well, almost all of them. He left these rugs, and a watercolor. Rugs. Yes, rugs. When Bacon was an interior designer, he had a few rugs made. Though he wanted to destroy them like his other earlier work, his clients begged him not to. Like a thief who was vain enough to leave a clue, these rugs show us a piece of the artist he was before he was Francis Bacon.
He should have destroyed them so I couldn’t be reposting them now. Here they are, rugs designed by Francis Bacon.
Evidently Bacon was influenced by other designers at the time, though he neglected to give them credit. Take a look at this comparison of rugs posted by Mariano Akerman.
First Known Painting
Below, Watercolour (1929), is Francis Bacon’s earliest surviving painting. It appears to have evolved from rug designs, with cubism stirred in. (Cubism began in 1907, and had matured by 1918.)
Here’s another painting from 1929-1930. This one has a door! Doors would become a common theme in Francis Bacon’s later paintings. Clearly he hasn’t quite figured out how to paint yet, but it’s there. You can see it coming. Isn’t that exciting?
There it is. The inception of Bacon. What do you think?
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Minakata’s Sketchbooks
Minakata Kumagusu (1867 – 1941) was a Japanese author, biologist, and ethnologist. In his study of fungi, Minakata collected and drew thousands of mycological illustrations. Here are a few excerpts from his beautiful and informative sketchbooks. He discovered a new slime mold from all this sketching. That’s nothing to sneeze at.
30SAL Challenge: Doorzien Mystery
Doorzien – a Dutch word translated as “to see through.” In dutch art, doorzien referred to a painting that showed a view from one room into another, making the picture especially beautiful. I wish I knew what movie it was, but some time long ago I was in a college film class. The instructor showed us …
SAL Challenge Week 2 Winners
[image_with_animation image_url=”10122″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Mahala Mrozek, Quick Time New Participants for Week 2! The SAL Challenge is growing! Happy creatives have been posting work all over the everywhere on Facebook and Instagram pages. You can look for them by searching for #salchallenge and #seattleartistleague. Great stuff! Artworks I found were by Margot Booth, Madeline Mimi Torchia Boothby, …
Blending Techniques for Painters
Above: A beautiful example of multi-layered blending by Sharon Kingston Blending The most common way to kill the vitality in a painting, blending is a smooth transition between two colors, painted when wet. This is difficult to do with acrylic because it dries so danged fast, so using a slow drying paint like Golden OPEN Acrylics might help. 3 Blending …