Triptych Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus

Francis Bacon created the Triptych Inspired by the Oresteia of Aeschylus in 1981, his only painting to explicitly reference the Greek dramatist in its title. Three panels, each 198 by 147 cm, present haunting imagery: a half-opened door revealing an empty chair, and a box-shaped structure supporting a mutilated figure with exposed spine.

Rather than illustrating specific characters from Aeschylus's trilogy, Bacon sought to capture the emotional intensity of tragedy itself. He explained to writer Michel Leiris that he attempted "to create images of the sensations that some of the episodes created inside me." The work channels ancient Greek catharsis to examine the human condition.

Norwegian billionaire Hans Rasmus Astrup purchased it in 1987 for the Astrup Fearnley Museum in Oslo. In June 2020, Sotheby's sold it for $84.6 million in a live-streamed virtual auction, making it Bacon's third most expensive work.