Francis Bacon and the Brutality of Fact

In his London studio, Francis Bacon discusses his work and approach with David Sylvester. Central to their conversation is Bacon's controversial, horrifying subjects and style.

His representations of the human figure in portraits and triptychs link him, in his view, to the distorted realism of Van Gogh and Picasso, who also portray the intensity of life Bacon calls "the brutality of fact".