Bacon and Eliot
[ Illustration 8] In memory of George Dyer 1971 Oil and dry transfer lettering on canvas Each panel 198 x 147.5 cm Fondation Beyler, Beyler collection, Riehen/Basel https://www.tate.org.uk/sites/default/files/styles/width-1200/public/images/id_069_lg.jpg
The imagery and composition of this work was came from a reading of The Waste Land. This is evidenced by the fact that the 1971 facsimile edition which he owned contained a sketch for the composition of what was to become this work in the margins of the text. 40 The painting differs from Bacon’s usual intention of the triptych to encompass the viewer , as it shows Dyer transitioning from life to death. The panel on the left shows Dyer in life and in motion rolling around on the floor, probably depicted as a boxer. The central panel appears to be the staircase of the Pari sian hotel which was Dyer’s place of death; the door beyond him is ambiguous, possibly signifying a transition into death (considering the paintings that flank it) . Dyer’s expression is cautious as he looks over his shoulder . This is the panel which has the most connection to The Waste Land . The right-hand panel is based on a photograph of Dyer. He’s depicted twice, one is solidly cast onto a block and one is knocked over, with part of its head seemingly melting, possibly signifying his life draining away as he succumbed to the cocktail of sleeping pills and alcohol he took. This is juxtaposed with the physicality of the figure behind it which takes the appearance of a memorial photo on a tombstone.
The central panel makes a visual inference to some lines from The Waste Land and the imagery of a specific stanza:
I have heard the key Turn in the door once and turn once only we think of the key, each in his prison 41
40 Ottinger 2019: 30. 41 Eliot 1963: 79.
241
Made with FlippingBook interactive PDF creator