Exhibition on Bacon to open at Madrid's Prado museum

Prado director Miguel Zugaza said displaying the paintings by Bacon — known for his depictions of twisted forms, mottled flesh and screaming mouths — had an “extraordinary emotional charge” because of his links to the city.

The show will run until April 19 and includes archival documents found in his tiny studio after his 1992 death.

During his frequent visits to Madrid, Bacon was a regular visitor to the Prado where he especially liked to admire works by Spanish masters Francisco Goya and Diego Velazquez, said the show's curator, Manuela Mena.

“He would ask for the doors to be opened on the days when the museum was closed so as to be able to study the works,” she said.

As an example of the influence of the Spanish masters on Bacon's work, the exhibit highlights his numerous paintings that were inspired by Velazquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X.

The retrospective was first held at London's Tate museum between September 11 and January 4. After closing at the Prado it will be staged at New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art between May 18 and August 16.

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