OEDIPUS AND THE SPHINX (AFTER INGRES), 1984

  • Oedipus and the Sphinx after Ingres, 1984, Francis Bacon
    Oedipus and the Sphinx after Ingres, 1984
    Lithograph in colours on Arches paper, edition of 150, H 117 X W 84cm
    ©The Estate of Francis Bacon 
    Oedipus and the Sphinx is one of Francis Bacon’s most striking reinterpretations of classical mythology, a theme he returned to throughout his career to explore conflict, desire, and fate. Based on the ancient Greek story, where Oedipus confronts the Sphinx and unknowingly seals his own tragic destiny, Bacon transforms the encounter into a raw psychological drama.
     
    In his version, the myth’s elegance and symbolism give way to something visceral. The figures of man and beast are locked together in a violent, ambiguous embrace that feels part struggle, part seduction. Bacon strips away the narrative detail, focusing instead on the physical intensity of the moment, twisting bodies, blurred motion, and the tension between attraction and destruction.
     
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  • I would like, in my arbitrary way, to bring one nearer to the actual human being.

     
    - Francis Bacon

    In Greek mythology, Oedipus and the Sphinx meet in a moment of confrontation and fate. The Sphinx poses her deadly riddle; Oedipus solves it, and her destruction triggers his own downfall.

    For Francis Bacon, this myth of knowledge and self-destruction echoed his own themes. In Oedipus and the Sphinx, the riddle serves as a symbol of the human condition, representing the search for meaning amid chaos. Stripped of narrative, Bacon focuses on the encounter itself: two figures locked in tension, intellect against instinct, control against compulsion.