Bacon, Francis (1909-1992)
Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion
1944
Oil paint on 3 boards, each: 94 × 73.7 cm
Tate Britain, London
© Estate of Francis Bacon. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2025
Francis Bacon titled this work after the figures often featured in Christian paintings witnessing the death of Jesus. But he said the creatures represented the avenging Furies from Greek mythology. The Furies punish those who go against the natural order. In Aeschylus’s tragedy The Eumenides, for example, they pursue a man who has murdered his mother. Bacon first exhibited this painting in April 1945, towards the end of the Second World War. For some, it reflects the horror of the war and the Holocaust in a world lacking guiding principles. (Tate)