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Oresteia Of Aeschylus (centre panel) - Unsigned Print by Francis Bacon 1981 - MyArtBroker

Oresteia Of Aeschylus (centre panel)
Unsigned Print

Francis Bacon

Price data unavailable

AAGR (5 years) This estimate blends recent public auction records with our own private sale data and network demand.

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Medium: Lithograph

Edition size: 150

Year: 1981

Size: H 40cm x W 30cm

Signed: No

Format: Unsigned Print

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The value of Francis Bacon's Oresteia Of Aeschylus (centre panel) (unsigned) is estimated to be worth between £2,650 and £3,950. This lithograph print, created in 1981, is a rare artwork with an auction history of one sale on 14th November 2013. The edition size of this artwork is limited to 150.

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Auction Results

Auction DateAuction HouseLocation
Hammer Price
Return to Seller
Buyer Paid
November 2013Swann Galleries United States

Meaning & Analysis

Bacon's original painted triptych, from which this lithograph was printed, was inspired by the The Oresteia, a trilogy of Greek tragedies written by Aeschylus in the 5th century BC. The third part of the tragedy, which had a lifelong influence on Bacon, follows Orestes' attempts to kill his own mother to avenge his father, Agamemnon. Though the work inspired many of Bacon's works, this is the only instance in which he payed direct homage through the title of the work. However, Bacon never sought to illustrate the tragedy, as he once remarked: "I could not paint Agamemnon, Clytemnestra or Cassandra, as that would have been merely another kind of historical painting... Therefore I tried to create an image of the effect it produced inside me."

Triptych Inspired By The Oresteia Of Aeschylus is one of the most distressing of Bacon's so-called 'Black Triptychs'. Themes of loss, grief, and guilt underscore much of the artist's work produced after the death of his long-term lover and companion George Dyer in 1971. Though this guilt is perhaps most pronounced in works produced immediately after Dyer's death, like Triptych August 1972, Oresteia Of Aeschylus (centre panel) reveals the prevailing psychological trauma effected by his death. The contorted figure appears almost to consume itself, a poignant reminder of the horrors Bacon saw and experienced in his lifetime which he unleashed onto canvas and printing plate with unparalleled grit.

  • Irish-born artist, Francis Bacon, has produced some of the most famous paintings in the British Contemporary canon. The 20th century maverick's visceral and emotionally charged canvases redefined figurative art. Exploring harrowing themes of trauma, sexuality, religion and violence, Bacon forces the viewer to confront the human psyche and the dark realities of human emotion. Often working from memory or his own imagination, there is a clear morphing of influences on Bacon’s work. An unusual combination of imagery is the result of his exposure to canonical artists such as Velazquez, Picasso and Rembrandt alongside his exploration of medical textbooks and photographic stills.