FRANCIS Bacon's Paris Studio
After the success of his now legendary exhibition at the Grand Palais in 1971, Francis Bacon began to stay in Paris more often. In 1974, he took a studio that doubled as a flat at 14, rue de Birague, in the Marais district. He set up home there in 1975 and lived there until 1987, producing a group of artworks that included a series of portraits and self-portraits. He told the French writer Franck Maubert: ‘I always paint in daylight, and I love the light in Paris. I prefer it to the light in London.’ The MB Art Collection holds the largest set of print materials, photographs, correspondence and objects from Bacon’s Paris studio anywhere in the world.
Selected items from Francis Bacon’s Paris studio:
Francis Bacon’s studio, 14 rue de Birague, Paris, September 1978.
Photo: Eddy Batache
© Eddy Batache
Francis Bacon with Eddy Batache at 14 rue de Birague, Paris, July 1986
Photo: Reinhard Hassert
© Reinhard Hassert
Francis Bacon and Michel Leiris in the courtyard at 14 rue de Birague, Paris, 1970s
Photo: Michael Peppiatt
© Michael Peppiatt
Menu card for the Grand Palais preview dinner at Le Train Bleu restaurant at Gare de Lyon, 26 October 1971
Francis Bacon at Roland Gardens, London, 1967
Photo: John Deakin
© John Deakin/Bridgeman Images
Francis Bacon in his studio at 14 rue de Birague, Paris, 1979
Photo: Edward Quinn
© edwardquinn.com
Francis Bacon at the window of his flat, 14 rue de Birague, Paris, 1975
Photo: D. L. Morhor
© D. L. Morhor
Francis Bacon in his studio at 14 rue de Birague, Paris, 1979
Photo: Edward Quinn
© edwardquinn.com
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