TRIPTYCH INSPIRED BY THE ORESTEIA OF AESCHYLUS (LEFT PANEL), 1981

  • Triptych, Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus (Left Panel), 1981, is part of one of Francis Bacon’s most ambitious late...

    Triptych Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus (left panel), 1981

    Oil on canvas, each panel 198 x 147.5cm 

    ©The Estate of Francis Bacon, Image reproduced for informational purposes only.

    Triptych, Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus (Left Panel), 1981, is part of one of Francis Bacon’s most ambitious late works, drawing on the ancient Greek trilogy that explores revenge, fate and the cycle of violence within a doomed family. In this panel, Bacon translates the tragic intensity of Aeschylus’s drama into a stark, physical language of form and colour. The figure, part human, part creature, appears contorted within a shallow, claustrophobic space, its body twisted in pain or transformation.
     
    The background’s muted tones heighten the emotional tension, emphasising the bruised flesh. Bacon’s fascination with Greek tragedy stemmed from his belief that it revealed the unchanging nature of human suffering. Through abstraction and distortion, this work conveys not a specific moment in the Oresteia, but the enduring themes of guilt, consequence and the inescapability of destiny. 

  • If I didn’t have to live, I’d never let any of it out.

    - Francis Bacon

    The Oresteia by Aeschylus is a trilogy of Greek tragedies that traces the cycle of revenge, guilt and justice within the cursed House of Atreus. It begins with Agamemnon, where the king is murdered by his wife, Clytemnestra, for sacrificing their daughter, Iphigenia. In The Libation Bearers, their son, Orestes, kills his mother to avenge his father, only to be pursued by the Furies for the crime of matricide. The final play, The Eumenides, sees Orestes tried in Athens, where the goddess Athena replaces endless vengeance with lawful justice. The trilogy moves from chaos to order, exploring fate, morality and the cost of human suffering, themes that would later resonate deeply in Francis Bacon’s art.