SAND DUNE, 1981

  • Sand Dune, 1981, Francis Bacon

    Sand Dune, 1981

    Oil, pastel, dust and dry transfer lettering on canvas

    198 x 147.5cm 

    ©The Estate of Francis Bacon, Images used for informational purposes.

    Sand Dune 1981,  marks one of the more abstract works from Francis Bacon’s late career, where abstraction and figuration merge into a haunting vision of solitude. The composition presents an undefined, shifting form set against a vast, almost desolate backdrop, while the foreground mimics that of a room in a home. The title suggests landscape, yet what Bacon offers feels psychological rather than physical, a barren emotional terrain rather than a depiction of sand and sky.

     

    Painted during a period of reflection and restraint, Sand Dune captures the stillness and emptiness that increasingly defined Bacon’s later work. The human presence, though faint, seems to dissolve into the landscape, suggesting a merging of body and environment, life and decay. The soft tonal transitions and minimal composition reveal Bacon’s move away from violent immediacy toward quiet introspection.

  • I don’t believe art is available; it’s rare and curious and should be completely isolated

     

    - Francis Bacon

    Sand Dune (1981) is a striking example of Francis Bacon’s experimental approach to materials, showing how his late works combined painterly instinct with technical innovation. In this piece, he layered oil, pastel, dust and dry transfer lettering onto canvas, creating a surface that feels both tactile and ephemeral. The mix of mediums blurs the boundary between control and accident, the oil paint giving depth and richness to the flesh-like tones, while the pastel and dust soften and diffuse the image, leaving it with a ghostly, powdery quality.