David Sylvester (1924–2001)
Author of Interviews with Francis Bacon
About the Author
David Sylvester is an internationally renowned art critic who in 1993 became the first art critic to receive a Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale. (Bowker Author Biography)
Works by David Sylvester
Francis Bacon : Exposition, Paris, Centre Georges Pompidou (1996) — Sous la direction de — 18 copies
Richard Hamilton 5 copies
Great Interviews of the 20th Century: Francis Bacon by David Sylvester 1963, 1966, 1979 (2007) 5 copies
Islamic carpets from the Joseph V. McMullan collection: [catalogue of an exhibition held at the] Hayward Gallery, London, 19 October - 10 December 1972 — Author, some editions — 4 copies
Rene Magritte Catalogue Raisonne IV: Oil Temperas, Watercolors, Gouches and Papier Colles.. (1995) 4 copies
Bacon 4 copies
Alberto Giacometti: sculpture, paintings, drawings; [exhibition] Tate Gallery, 17 July-30 August 1965 (1965) 3 copies
Rene Magritte: Catalogue Raisonne : III Oil Paintings, Objects, and Bronzes 1949-1967 (1993) 3 copies
Great Stories 1 copy
Henry Moore Dessins 1 copy
David Bomberg 1 copy
Magritte - Arts Council 1969 1 copy
La brutalidad de los hechos. Entrevistas con Francis Bacon (Arte moderno) (Spanish Edition) (2009) 1 copy
Associated Works
Theories and Documents of Contemporary Art: A Sourcebook of Artists' Writings (1995) — Contributor — 415 copies, 1 review
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Canonical name
- Sylvester, David
- Legal name
- Sylvester, Anthony David Bernard
- Birthdate
- 1924-09-21
- Date of death
- 2001-06-18
- Gender
- male
- Education
- University College School
- Occupations
- art critic
curator - Awards and honors
- Order of the British Empire (Commander, 1983)
Venice Bennale Golden Lion (1993)
Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Officier, 1996) - Relationships
- Mackay, Shena (partner)
Brown, Cecily (daughter) - Nationality
- UK
- Birthplace
- London, England, UK
- Places of residence
- London, England, UK
Paris, France - Place of death
- London, England, UK
- Associated Place (for map)
- London, England, UK
Members
Reviews
A thorough and detailed discussion of Irish-British painter Francis Bacon’s (1909-1992) work and process. The interviews in the book were melded from a series of interviews over a period of twenty-five years with David Sylvester, a writer, art critic and authority on Bacon.
There are a few subjects Sylvester returns to more than once and teases out. Bacon’s preference for painting portraits from photographs rather than the seated person. “They inhibit me.” His affinity for a sense of show more meat in paintings, religious imagery, using triptychs as a format. His preference for not telling a story or narrative with his paintings. “The moment the story enters, the boredom comes upon you.”
There’s some discussion of how Bacon’s world view affects his work. “I’m always surprised when I wake up in the morning,” and “You can be optimistic and totally without hope.”
There are color plates of many of Bacon’s unsetting images and in some cases the sources of their inspiration. The book itself is physically substantial, of high quality with thick glossy pages and the many illustrations. David Sylvester is a penetrating interviewer. Bacon is an honest and articulate subject. It makes for a fascinating series of interviews and book. show less
There are a few subjects Sylvester returns to more than once and teases out. Bacon’s preference for painting portraits from photographs rather than the seated person. “They inhibit me.” His affinity for a sense of show more meat in paintings, religious imagery, using triptychs as a format. His preference for not telling a story or narrative with his paintings. “The moment the story enters, the boredom comes upon you.”
There’s some discussion of how Bacon’s world view affects his work. “I’m always surprised when I wake up in the morning,” and “You can be optimistic and totally without hope.”
There are color plates of many of Bacon’s unsetting images and in some cases the sources of their inspiration. The book itself is physically substantial, of high quality with thick glossy pages and the many illustrations. David Sylvester is a penetrating interviewer. Bacon is an honest and articulate subject. It makes for a fascinating series of interviews and book. show less
A good book but I was hoping for some juicy interviews. Mostly David Sylvester asks him about his methods, materials, a lot of stuff that's specific to oil painting, not a lot of hot goss in here. It's nice that Francis Bacon didn't get his start until he was 35, nor did he ever get to school, and I liked the part where he describes painting a screaming mouth like Monet paints a sunset. You gotta really want to know about his process, I really wanted to know about his boyfriends.
The exhibition at the Hayward Gallery was a really great retrospective with lots of fantastic work spanning decades. Her paintings are miracles. This book is lovely and well produced, and a nice reminder of it. The essays are interesting though some of them do cover similar ground but I always learn something reading about Bridget Riley's work and methods.
Discusses modern art; includes color plates, biographies and influences.
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Statistics
- Works
- 83
- Also by
- 4
- Members
- 1,173
- Popularity
- #21,938
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 9
- ISBNs
- 105
- Languages
- 11