Francis Bacon (1909-92) is widely regarded as Britain's greatest modern painter. Drawing on low-art sources, including photographs torn from magazines and imagery from films, coupled with a keen awareness of the rich historical tradition of painting stretching back to the Renaissance, Bacon developed a way of portraying the human body that was unique. His mastery of the medium of paint was recognised early. By 1946, the critic Kenneth Clark felt able to state simply: 'Francis Bacon has genius'.
 
Now towards the end of the first decade of the new millennium, it is time to reassess the achievement of this unique figure, whose style was so personal and distinctive that his influence lies more in his commitment to art itself than in any stylistic legacy. With over 200 illustrations, including archival photographs, source materials and items from the artist's personal collection, Francis Bacon also features the latest scholarschip. Tate curators Matthew Gale and Chris Stephens are joined by an array of international art historians and experts in a radical reassessment of Bacon's importance for the twenty-first century.