Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion

Three writhing, biomorphic creatures - part animal, part flayed flesh, with gaping screaming mouths and craning necks - twist in torment on lurid orange grounds. Francis Bacon based these Furies on the figures who attend a crucifixion, but stripped away any redemption, leaving only raw horror. Shown just as the Second World War ended, Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion shocked viewers and made his reputation overnight. Now in the Tate, it announced his lifelong subject - the human body as a site of pain, scream, and dissolution, isolated against pitiless color.