This exhibition catalogue is not a retrospective but rather examines for the first time the artist's work within a network of relationships and influences from the Old Masters to artists of the 20th century. One of the most important painters of the 20th century, the eminent English painter Francis Bacon (1909-1992) was known for his brutal, haunting and grotesque portraits of man and beast. In this eye-opening study featuring works by Bacon and artists such as Velazquez, Rembrandt, Titian, Ingres, Degas, Schiele, Van Gogh, and Picasso, the author draws an intriguing connection between Bacon and his predecessors