E xecuted in 2016, Homage to Francis Bacon (Study for the Head of Isabel Rawsthorne and George Dyer) exemplifies Takashi Murakami’s audacious conflation of high and commercial art, investigating prescient societal and philosophical themes using his signature bold manga aesthetic. Known for his “Superflat” theory of art that emphasises the flatness of Japanese visual culture, Murakami has risen to global prominence for his diverse oeuvre that draws upon elements from pop culture, history and fine art. An avid admirer of Irish-born British figurative painter, Francis Bacon, Murakami first paid tribute to the mid-twentieth century master in 2003. Since then, he has created multiple iterations of Bacon’s Studies of George Dyer and Isabel Rawsthorn, as strikingly encapsulated in the present work. In the same way Murakami pays homage to Bacon, Bacon recalls the work of famous Renaissance painter, Piero della Francesca, who masterfully depicted marriage portraits in the form of diptychs, exemplified by the widely renowned, Portraits of the Duke and Duchess of Urbino (1465-1472).

As seen in Bacon’s original Study for Head of Isabel Rawsthorne and George Dyer, executed in 1967, the dual protagonists are placed before a sumptuous backdrop of deep emerald green. Bacon masterfully captures the psychological depths of his sitters, gesturally applying tonal layers of pink to achieve luminous portraits composed of swirling contours. Animated yet muted, Bacon accomplishes a distinct aura of pensive rumination in his work. Indeed, the portrayals are deeply personal, commemorating two of Bacon’s most profound relationships during his lifetime. As the individual images magnetically conjoin in diptych format, the work quietly implies Bacon’s intimate presence in the space that exists between them.

Enthralled by Bacon’s exquisite study of Isabel Rawsthorne and George Dyer, Murakami has often recalled the work of the figurative master using his “Superflat” aesthetic, incorporating his signature alter ego, Mr. DOB, into the form of the sitter. However, this dazzling work differs from the artist’s past iterations of Bacon’s Rawsthorne and Dyer, pushing the transformation and evolution of his Mr. DOB character further than ever before. While the two modified figures of Homage to Francis Bacon appear deformed, they are more anthropomorphic than cartoonish when compared to the previous tributes, a sincere nod to Bacon and his raw, visceral artistic approach to painting. The idea of the artist’s hand or presence can be similarly observed in Murakami’s rendition, with the artist maintaining his striking, signature flat, manga-inspired aesthetic. As such, Murakami’s two dimensionality, which can be observed throughout Japanese visual history, completely opposes Bacon’s application of near-sculptural brushstrokes. Further, Murakami boldly replaces Bacon’s dark palette, instead playing with bright color and hints of vibrant neon on a silver metallic surface, mixing playfulness with unexpected undertones of foreboding and contemplation.

Beyond the visual surface of flattened pictorial planes, Murakami’s “Superflat” aesthetic also metaphorically refers to Japanese society’s increasing shift towards rampant consumerism in the postwar world. These hidden thematic implications draw out a plethora of cultural comparisons and dichotomies that Murakami consistently investigates throughout his celebrated, era-defining oeuvre. One of the key contradictions which Murakami explores in Homage to Francis Bacon, is the distinction between what is traditionally considered high and low culture. In his work, the artist merges the realms of fine art with contrasting pop and manga aesthetics, typically associated with commercial art. Further, in his choice to appropriate a Western artist, Murakami fuses aesthetics and ideas from the East and the West. This multifaceted juxtaposition teases out other political and cultural explorations, diving into the themes of Otherness and Westernized dominance in the context of the aftermath of the Second World War.

As seen in Homage to Francis Bacon, metamorphosis is ever apparent in Murakami’s work. In his 2016 reformulation of Bacon’s original dual portrait, Murakami reconfigures his predecessor’s iconic diptych in the guise of his own unique artistic vision. At each layer of the painting, both physically and psychologically, an ongoing process of transfiguration occurs. Thus, Homage to Francis Bacon surpasses its surface of tribute and imitation, ultimately using comparison and amalgamation to question and explore complex Japanese identity politics in the unsettled post-war world. Murakami powerfully pioneers a critical perspective on art, life, and society, forging a completely novel branch of Japanese art.

村 上隆在這幅2016年的作品中大膽結合高雅藝術與商業藝術，使用瓷漆顏料，透過自成一家的美學風格，探討在當時極具前瞻意味的社會及哲學議題。村上隆提出著名的「超扁平」理論，強調日本藝術中的扁平視覺效果，並汲取流行文化、歷史和其他藝術元素，創造出豐富多彩的作品。他非常仰慕在愛爾蘭出生的英國肖像畫家弗朗西斯・培根，早於2003年已藉作品向這位二十世紀中期的大師致敬。自此以後，他多次以培根的《喬治・戴爾與伊莎貝爾・羅斯頭像習作》為藍本創作致敬之作，本次上拍的一幅為箇中典範。正如村上隆向培根致敬，培根也從文藝復興巨匠皮耶羅・德拉・弗朗切斯卡的油畫中獲得啟發。弗朗切斯卡善於以雙聯屏的形式描繪男女婚姻，其中最廣為人知的名作是1465至72年完成的《烏爾比諾公爵與公爵夫人像》。

培根的《喬治・戴爾與伊莎貝爾・羅斯頭像習作》作於1967年，畫中二人身後是深綠色的背景，如綠寶石般飽滿濃郁。培根以高超的技巧刻畫了模特兒的心理狀態，粉紅色的顏料在流暢的筆觸下層層疊加、打旋，勾勒出透著瑩潤光澤的臉龐。作品在創作手法上充滿激越的動感，整體卻肅穆沉靜，引人尋思。培根用這件習作記錄人生裡兩段親密關係，傾注了深刻的個人感情。兩幅單人畫像組成一件雙聯作，畫與畫之間的空間悄然盤踞著培根的氣息。

村上隆深受培根的雙聯作吸引，經常以他的「超扁平」美學將作品重新演繹，並把自己的化身Mr. DOB變成畫中人。不過本拍品跟村上隆以往致敬羅斯與戴爾頭像的作品有所不同，Mr. DOB在當中經歷了前所未見的蛻變和演化，畫中兩人面容扭曲，但是相比起以往的創作，這裡與其說是把人物卡通化，倒不如說是把物品擬人化，情真意切地表達了這位日本藝術家對培根赤裸直白畫風的推崇。在深受漫畫影響的「超扁平」視覺衝擊中，村上隆的手法和風格依然清晰地傳達出來。因此，其作品中的平面特質與培根近乎立體的筆觸可謂大相徑庭，呼應了日本視覺藝術一貫的風格。此外，村上隆乾脆俐落地用明亮的顏色，取代培根原畫中的沉鬱色調，在泛著金屬銀光的表面點綴繽紛的霓虹色彩，在鬱鬱寡歡而且令人深思的基調中，摻入絲絲俏皮玩味。

「超扁平」除了指畫面上的扁平圖像，還引申出日本在戰後逐漸被消費主義主宰的社會現實。這個隱喻帶出一系列文化對比和二元對立，並於村上隆在藝壇中彷彿異軍突起的創作生涯中，不斷反覆出現。本作探討的其中一個主要對立，是傳統觀念中高雅與低俗文化的差異。流行漫畫通常被視為帶有商業色彩，然而在村上隆筆下，流行漫畫元素與一般意義上的高級藝術融為一體。他還透過挪用一位西方藝術家的作品，糅合東、西美學和價值觀。這種多元並置衍生出更多政治和文化討論，甚至觸及戰後社會出現的「他者性」，以及以西方文化為主導的現象。

本作集中審視了日本乃至亞洲的文化及歷史，凸顯普世共通的人類情感和經驗。村上隆與培根一樣，熱衷研究複雜糾結的精神狀態，並借鑒培根刻意扭曲面部和身體的方式，深入發掘人物的內心世界，引發共鳴。培根從扭作一團的肉體中發酵出情感充沛的畫像，旨在透過視覺元素，傳遞人類的各種精神狀態，從更廣泛、更基本的層面引發關於生命和生存的反思。他的創作過程亦從某種意義上加深了作品的衝擊力：靜態的顏料透過他的筆觸揮灑出動態，一靜一動，照見了生命與無常。培根大開大闔的表現手法與貼近超現實主義的思考模式，讓村上隆大有感觸，促使他仿傚培根扭曲肉體的做法，並透過獨特的個人風格、文化背景和偏愛的題材，表達人類在當前充斥著焦慮情緒的大環境下，產生的不安與不確定感。

從本作可見，事物的質變一直存在於村上隆的畫中。他把原來以雙聯屏方式展示的一對人像，以自己獨有的藝術視角重新編排。每一層顏料都由外至內，在形態和精神兩方面，不間斷地改變畫中人的形象。因此，本作並非簡單的致敬及摹仿之作，而是通過比較和旁徵博引，直面在戰後不穩定的社會中，日本人複雜的身份認同問題。村上隆開創了一個透視藝術、人生和社會的嶄新角度，並且淬煉出日本藝術前所未見的分支。