Monaco. August 23, 2016
Field trip to Monte Carlo for the entire Bordighera/Cap Martin Team (the Marchiori, the Pages and the Fay) to see an Exhibit on Francis Bacon.
A quick tour of the exquisit Japanese Gardens on Avenue Princesse Grace puts us in the perfect "Zen" mood, ready for the electrifying Bacon Exhibit.
We are not disappointed by this very impressive exhibit at the Grimaldi Forum: Francis Bacon, Monaco and the French Culture. The presentation is remarkable with part of the show displayed in dark rooms using interesting ligth effects and greatly enhancing the artist's work.
Another part of the exhibit is showcased in "Open Framed" rooms introducing a fun interactive quality to the show.
Bacon's work is often inspired by other well known artists (for example La Dance after Picasso below). Is it Inspiration, Interpretation or Appropriation? Another Bacon's trademark are his "Destructured" portraits (below Portrait of Michel Leiris).
An interesting example of Bacon's creative process are Bacon's pope paintings. Bacon worked on his pope paintings, variation of Velázquez's portrait of Pope Innocent X, for over twenty years.
Bacon's popes depart even further from their source (Velázquez), often replacing the pontiff's head with the screaming face of the wounded nurse in the famous Odessa steps sequence of the Eisenstein's film Battleship Potemkin.
One painting was unanimously well liked by the Team; "Study of a Bull". Here photographed under Maestro Claudio's directions.
It did not take long for the Team to "Appropriate" Bacon's art for its own creative process....
A perfect example of the Team's creations is shown below with the original art (on the left!) and the adapted work on the right!
Ending the day with a nice dinner at the Pages' in Cap Martin. Ice-cream desert from Maitre Glacier de Monaco: Pierre Geronimi.
