ABSTRACT
On 26 October 1971, the President of the Republic, Georges Pompidou, inaugurated the retrospective of Francis Bacon's paintings at the prestigious Grand Palais. Bacon was only the second living artist to exhibit at the Grand Palais since Picasso's monumental retrospective in 1966. The Grand Palais exhibition was not Bacon's first retrospective. However it was the most extensive up to that date, with 108 paintings, among them eleven triptychs produced between 1944 and 1971. Because the early works of Francis Bacon had been presented to international audiences in the previous retrospectives, the organizers decided to exclude the 1930s paintings. The focus of Parisian retrospective was placed on Bacon's new works; nearly half of the pictures displayed were created five years prior to the exhibition. Bacon's position in France as the greatest living artist was cemented, and he achieved almost a celebrity status. The retrospective triggered a series of successful exhibitions in France, such as Francis Bacon at Musee Cantini in Marseille.
