Screaming man in a blue box with brown background. Art by Francis Bacon.

Francis Bacon was a figurative painter known for his bold, austere, and often nightmarish imagery. He is primarily recognized for images depicting room-bound masculine figures isolated in glass or steel cages set against flat, nondescript backgrounds. The work that Bacon produced during the 1940's through 1960's earned him a reputation as a chronicler of the grotesque.