Francis Bacon - Triptych 1976
Triptych 1976
198x147cm each canvas
Sold for: USD 86.3 million
Auction house: Sotheby's, New York
Sale date: 14 May 2008
Seller: Moueix family
Buyer: Roman Abramovich
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Triptych, 1976 is a large triptych painted by the British artist Francis Bacon in 1976. It comprises three oil and pastel paintings on canvas. It is the second most expensive Bacon ever sold, after Three Studies of Lucian Freud, being auctioned for US$86 million in 2008.
The 1976 triptych is a large three panel painting (each panel measuring 78 x 58 in, 198 x 147.5 cm), with dense colors and abstract shapes. Bacon used his usual technique, starting on the left panel and working across. The piece draws on classical Greek iconography and mythology, and makes reference to Prometheus, as several interpretations claim.