Portrait of Isabel Rawsthorne, from 1966, is one of the many portraits Francis Bacon made of Isabel; it belongs to a series of some fourteen canvases, both single portraits and triptychs, produced between the 1960s and the early 1970s. In this work the figure of Rawsthorne, a gifted painter and costume designer and a central presence in London's avant-garde circle, is depicted with intense expressive force: Bacon does not aim at classical likeness, but at conveying the woman's energy, personality and charisma. The features are rendered with bold brushstrokes, in a face that may appear distorted or abstract, in a composition that challenges the tranquillity of the traditional portrait.
Rawsthorne's presence emerges in a disturbing yet magnetic way, a visual testimony to her inner complexity and to the emotional tension Bacon sought to capture. The work speaks not only of a face but of vulnerability, identity and the relationship between artist and sitter, making it a psychological and metaphorical portrait.
Unique quality material
Print on handmade Amalfi paper Sheet size: 29 x 42 cm (11.4 x 16.5 in) With frame: 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) Material: artwork printed on very fine handmade Amalfi paper with deckled edges Frame: light brown beech wood and wood pulp, handmade
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