The so @-@ called " space frame " had already been used by Alberto Giacometti in the 1930s , and the two artists became friends in the 1960s . However Giacometti had by 1949 used it only in surrealist contexts before Bacon 's adaption , and in turn influenced his use in " The Cage " of 1950 . A similar two dimensional construct is found in Henry Moore 's works , notably his " Maguette for King and Queen " , constructed three years after Bacon 's Head . It is difficult to untangle how these artists influenced and informed each other . What is notable is that Bacon continued to use the motif , with intervals until the end of his life . Sylvester suggests his finest example is the 1970 Three Studies of the Male Back .