Three Figures in a room by Francis Bacon

The misleading title of this work might suggest that it is a scene representing three different figures, but in fact it is the same person. Starting in 1944, Francis Bacon drew inspiration from religious paintings composed of several panels, such as in his Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion, drawing on their narrative content and connection with transcendence. In his own triptychs, he aimed to blur any narrative suggestion, and transposed the religious style of altar paintings into the world of tragedy. This work shows three depictions of George Dyer, the painter's partner from 1963 onwards. In this premonitory work, the left-hand panel shows him in the position in which Bacon found him dead in 1971.