Untitled (Portrait of Michel Leiris, from Requiem pour la Fin des Temps)
29.8 cms x 24.8 cms (11.75 ins x 9.75 ins)
Signed, editioned 46/100 and stamped with the georges visat, paris blindstamp and on verso titled "untitled, from requiem pour la fin des temps" and dated 1978 on the gallery label
printed in 1978
Lot offered for sale by Heffel, Vancouver at the auction event "April 2020 Online auction" held on Thu, Apr 30, 2020.
Lot 001
Lot 001
Estimate: CAD $15,000 - $20,000
Realised: CAD $25,000
Realised: CAD $25,000
Lot description - from the online catalogue*
Provenance:
Albert White Gallery, Toronto
Private Collection, West Vancouver
Literature:
Bruno Sabatier, Francis Bacon: Oeuvre Graphique – The Graphic Work: Catalogue Raisonné, JSC Modern Art Gallery, Paris, 2012
Notes:
Francis Bacon is one of the most important and celebrated painters of the last century, known for his raw, emotionally charged depictions of the human body from a bleak, existentialist perspective.
This portrait is of Michel Leiris, a French anthropologist, writer and poet. For much of the twentieth century, Leiris was at the forefront of French intellectual life - he was intimately connected with the Surrealist movement and was a friend of Pablo Picasso’s. From the 1970s, Bacon spent considerable time in Paris, and in 1974, he bought an apartment there, which enabled him to deepen his friendship with Leiris, so much so that Leiris would later produce a richly illustrated monograph on Bacon’s oeuvre.
Eddy Batache, also a friend of Bacon’s, was a French art historian and expert on Surrealism. He helped Bacon with the French translation of his letters to Leiris. In return, Bacon allowed Batache to use prints based on his paintings to illustrate his publications, such as Requiem pour la fin des temps in 1978.
This portrait of Leiris, subtle and insightful, is an extraordinary work. The eye of Leiris, intelligent and compelling, communicates the importance of his intellectual influence on Bacon.
This work is based on Francis Bacon's oil painting from 1976, Portrait of Michel Leiris. It was made for Eddie Batache's publication Requiem pour la Fin des Temps, which was published by Éditions d'art Georges Visat in 1978
Albert White Gallery, Toronto
Private Collection, West Vancouver
Literature:
Bruno Sabatier, Francis Bacon: Oeuvre Graphique – The Graphic Work: Catalogue Raisonné, JSC Modern Art Gallery, Paris, 2012
Notes:
Francis Bacon is one of the most important and celebrated painters of the last century, known for his raw, emotionally charged depictions of the human body from a bleak, existentialist perspective.
This portrait is of Michel Leiris, a French anthropologist, writer and poet. For much of the twentieth century, Leiris was at the forefront of French intellectual life - he was intimately connected with the Surrealist movement and was a friend of Pablo Picasso’s. From the 1970s, Bacon spent considerable time in Paris, and in 1974, he bought an apartment there, which enabled him to deepen his friendship with Leiris, so much so that Leiris would later produce a richly illustrated monograph on Bacon’s oeuvre.
Eddy Batache, also a friend of Bacon’s, was a French art historian and expert on Surrealism. He helped Bacon with the French translation of his letters to Leiris. In return, Bacon allowed Batache to use prints based on his paintings to illustrate his publications, such as Requiem pour la fin des temps in 1978.
This portrait of Leiris, subtle and insightful, is an extraordinary work. The eye of Leiris, intelligent and compelling, communicates the importance of his intellectual influence on Bacon.
This work is based on Francis Bacon's oil painting from 1976, Portrait of Michel Leiris. It was made for Eddie Batache's publication Requiem pour la Fin des Temps, which was published by Éditions d'art Georges Visat in 1978
Most realised prices include the Buyer's Premium of 18-25%, but not the HST/GST Tax.
(*) Text and/or Image might be subject matter of Copyright. Check with Heffel auction house for permission to use.
(*) Text and/or Image might be subject matter of Copyright. Check with Heffel auction house for permission to use.