Prof Rina Arya to speak at Royal Academy's Francis Bacon event

The University of Huddersfield’s Professor Rina Arya will be speaking at the Royal Academy on 20 March as part of the Francis Bacon: Man and Beast tour, which focuses on the celebrated painter’s fascination with animals.

Man and Beast, which runs until 17 April, features Bacon’s monumental triptychs and his last ever work, Study of a Bull. Rina has written extensively about Bacon, and her talk will be about his literary and philosophical sources, in particular his existentialism. 

Bacon is arguably the greatest British painter of the twentieth century and his work has had enduring appeal. The exhibition, curated by Michael Peppiatt, looks at the painter’s preoccupation with our animal urges and the crossover, even interchangeability, between the animal and the human.

Rina’s book-length studies include Francis Bacon: Painting in a Godless World (2012) and Francis Bacon: Critical and Theoretical Perspectives (2013).

Recent articles include ‘‘Seeing-as’ The Modality of Looking in Bacon’s Portraiture’ in Visual Culture in Britain, 21.3 (2020) and ‘The Animal Surfaces: The Gaping Mouth in Francis Bacon’s Work’ in Visual Anthropology, 30.4 (2017).

Rina joined the University in 2018 as Professor of Visual Culture and Theory. Her talk is part of a two-day art history and theory course, Francis Bacon and his circle, which will be held onsite at the Royal Academy in London.

Photo credit: Burlington House, Royal Academy of Arts, London © Fraser Marr