Professor Sacha Golob's talk entitled 'Francis Bacon: Decadent?' was part of a day-long event, 'Bacon, Philosophy and Psychoanalysis', held at King’s College London on 7th September 2023. The event was a collaboration between the Estate of Francis Bacon and KCL’s Centre for Philosophy and Art. This talk was chaired by Dr Vanessa Brassey of KCL.
Golob discusses whether or not Bacon should be considered decadent. He eschews a basic biographical measure of decadence (such as might be judged by hotel receipts), to focus on the extent to which decadence is applicable to, or explored within, Bacon's paintings.
After deliberating various definitions of decadence, Golob concentrates on two particular cases: the decadence of aesthetic experience (citing Walter Pater) and the 'naysaying to life' (referencing Nietzsche).
Towards the end of the video there are questions from the audience, as well as comments from Dr Ben Ware (event chair) and Dr Darren Ambrose.