Rethinking the Image

Image source: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/bacon-three-figures-and-portrait-t02112 (Accessed: 18 September 2025). © The Estate of Francis Bacon

Francis Bacon, Three Figures and Portrait (1975), London, Tate Britain, 198.1 cm x 147.3 cm, oil and pastel on canvas.

As you stand in front of the large canvas of Three Figures and Portrait (1975), the curved walls of its claustrophobic interior draw you in. Two human forms, tense and muscular, appear to orbit each other, with a mysterious portrait pinned to the wall behind them and a snarling, winged creature in the foreground.

The head of the left-hand figure bears a clear resemblance to George Dyer, Bacon’s partner, who died in 1971 in tragic circumstances^[1], and who was the subject of some of Bacon’s most haunting work in the years that followed^[2]. It has been suggested that the right-hand figure in Three Figures and Portrait also refers to him^[3].

The rings that draw attention to the two figures’ heads are examples of a recurring visual motif in Bacon’s work – one which has been noted for its idiosyncratic and unpredictable outcomes^[3]. Here, the right-hand ring appears to magnify the figure’s head, while the left-hand ring does not. Meanwhile, the spine of the left-hand figure emerges strikingly from the body and curves outwards, as if to dictate the figure’s cyclical movement.

The ochre backdrop of the interior is intersected by an orange panel, onto which is pinned the portrait of a man, whose image watches over the unfolding scene. With its sombre palette, elliptical intrusions, and complex details, it resembles a miniature version of one of Bacon’s own portraits, perhaps serving as an indirect representation of the artist himself.

The winged creature in the foreground adds a subtle element of menace to the painting, with its head and mouth recalling the middle of the three “furies” in Bacon’s landmark 1944 painting, Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion^[4]. On closer inspection, the small, white object underneath the creature, with its clearly defined outline, appears to be an egg. This detail could be interpreted as a reference to the cyclical nature of life, and therefore an extension of the painting’s cyclical theme.

Three Figures and Portrait has been said to possess theatrical and tragic elements^[3], serving as an intriguing evocation of tension and distress; perhaps, more specifically, an unending cycle of tension and distress that was felt or perceived by Bacon himself.

[1] Francis Bacon (no date) George Dyer. Available at: https://www.francis-bacon.com/life/family-friends-sitters/george-dyer (Accessed: 18 September 2025).

[2] McMorrow, M. (2024) Exploring Francis Bacon’s Black Triptych Series. Available at: https://www.thecollector.com/francis-bacon-black-triptych-series/ (Accessed: 18 September 2025).

[3] Tate (no date) Three Figures and Portrait. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/bacon-three-figures-and-portrait-t02112 (Accessed: 18 September 2025).

[4] Tate (no date) Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion. Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/bacon-three-studies-for-figures-at-the-base-of-a-crucifixion-n06171 (Accessed: 18 September 2025).