Study for the Nurse in the Film "Battleship Potemkin", 1957

Dimensions: 198.0 x 142.0 cm

Physical Description: Oil on canvas

Inventory Number: SG 1248

Acquisition: Acquired in 1978

Status: On loan

Texts

About the Work

Francis Bacon has locked a naked, screaming woman into a confined space constructed in perspective. He quoted the image from a scene in Sergei Eisenstein’s ‘Battleship Potemkin’, a film about an attack on civilians in Odessa in 1905, the event that triggers this scream. Bacon omits the narrative elements; the figure becomes a metaphorical bearer of pain. The glazing of the canvas – a part of the artist’s concept – creates a reflection that throws the viewer back upon himself. At the same time, the glass puts a distance between him and the existential scream.

Audio & Video

Basic information

01:21
Focus on religion

01:57
Highlights of the Städel Collection

01:57

Kunst|Stück – Francis Bacon: Studie für die Kinderschwester in dem Film “Panzerkreuzer Potemkin”

Sammlungshighlights des Städel Museums in unterhaltsamen und informativen Filmen – das sind die Kunst|Stücke. Entdecken Sie spannende Details zu Kunstwerken aus ungewöhnlichen Blickwinkeln in unter zwei Minuten. Francis Bacon: Studie für die Kinderschwester in dem Film "Panzerkreuzer Potemkin" (1925), Städel Museum Frankfurt. https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/de/werk/studie-fuer-die-kinderschwester-in-dem-film-panzerkreuzer-po#yt
ASK AN ARTWORK – Fragen an die Kunst, Antworten aus dem Home Office: Francis Bacon #StaydelAtHome

Unheimlich, dieses Bild: ein Zwitterwesen, eingesperrt in einen käfigartigen Raum, den Mund zum stummen Schrei geöffnet. Wieso nennt es Francis Bacon "Studie für die Kinderschwester in dem Film Panzerkreuzer Potemkin"? Wen oder was stellt er dar? Das Bild wirft viele Fragen auf – in ASK AN ARTWORK beantwortet Anna aus dem Home Office wieder einige davon. Auch die, was das Gemälde mit uns heute zu tun hat 😱 #StaydelAtHome In der Serie ASK AN ARTWORK beantwortet die Kunsthistorikerin Anna Huber (Mitarbeiterin der Abteilung Bildung und Vermittlung) aus dem Home Office Fragen, die wir an die Kunst haben. Denn während der Coronakrise kommt das Städel zu Ihnen: #StaydelAtHome #HomeOffice Francis Bacon "Studie für die Kinderschwester in dem Film ‘Panzerkreuzer Potemkin’", 1957 in der Digitalen Sammlung: https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/de/werk/studie-fuer-die-kinderschwester-in-dem-film-panzerkreuzer-po An uncanny picture: a human-like, hybrid being with its mouth open in a scream, caged inside this bright green room. British artist Francis Bacon named it “Study for the Nurse in the Film ‘Battleship Potemkin’”, but why does he cite the Russian silent film classic? And is Bacon actually depicting his own emotional state? And why is the person (is it really a person?) sitting on a swing? These are some of the questions you submitted for this episode of ASK AN ARTWORK - Anna answers and also puts the painting in today's context. In the series ASK AN ARTWORK art historian Anna Huber (Educational Department of the Städel Museum) answers the questions that we have for art – from home office. Because during the Corona-Crisis, if you can’t come to the Städel Museum, then the Städel Museum will come to you: #StaydelAtHome Find Francis Bacon's "Study for the Nurse in the Film ‘Battleship Potemkin’" in our Digital Collection: https://sammlung.staedelmuseum.de/en/work/study-for-the-nurse-in-the-film-battleship-potemkin