Tate Britain's 'All Too Human' exhibition explores figure painting with Bacon, Freud, and a century of London artists

Tate Britain presented 'All Too Human: Bacon, Freud and a Century of Painting Life' from February 28 to August 27, 2018 at its Millbank location in London. Curated by Elena Crippa, the exhibition featured representational paintings by London-based artists, including Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud, R. B. Kitaj, Cecily Brown, Jenny Saville, Celia Paul, Paula Rego, Frank Auerbach, Leon Kossoff, Walter Richard Sickert, David Bomberg, William Coldstream, Euan Uglow, Michael Andrews, F.N. Souza, Lynette Yiadom-Boakye, and John Deakin. The show's title references Friedrich Nietzsche's phrase 'all too human.' Alberto Giacometti's sculpture Woman of Venice IX (1956) was included despite the artist's Swiss nationality and lack of residence in Great Britain. Works ranged from Bacon's Portrait (1962) depicting Peter Lacey to Saville's nearly eight-foot self-portrait Reverse (2002-03). Freud's Sleeping by the Lion Carpet (1996) portrays model Sue Tilley. The exhibition included still lifes, landscapes, and cityscapes alongside figure paintings. Many artists had personal connections: Freud and Paul were lovers; Sickert taught Bomberg; Bomberg taught Auerbach and Kossoff; Coldstream taught Rego, Uglow, and Andrews. The catalog featured Freud's portrait of Paul on its cover. Critical attention focused on Freud's desire for paint to resemble flesh. The show presented a lineage of artistic influence, with some artists inspired by Chaim Soutine, who lived in Paris.