Francis Bacon - Figure Writing Reflected in Mirror

Figure Writing Reflected in a Mirror shows a male figure in white underwear who bears a distinct resemblance to the artist's lover George Dyer, who, with breathtaking timing, killed himself on the eve of Bacon's important retrospective at the Grand Palais, Paris, in October 1971. The black sweep of hair resembles Bacon, so it can be interpreted as representing both artist and lover.

Dublin-born Bacon was hugely inspired by literature, whether the Oresteia or TS Eliot, and the figure writing...