Francis Bacon was born in 1909 and he died in 1992. Bacon was a figurative artist, but his figures were always violently and bizarrely distorted. He often painted the figures of people that went to the pubs in London’s Soho district. He liked to paint people he felt were tormented souls, his twisted representations depicting their inner torment. Similarly, Bacon often painted twisted and distorted self-portraits.
Bacon’s work is often associated with surrealism and the Old Masters, even though he’s considered a contemporary artist. He borrows from surrealism and photo and film distortion. He is known for using the techniques of the Old Masters to produce his unique, contemporary style.
He was heavily influenced by World War two and the injured and suffering post-war world that he inhabited in the 1940s and 1950s. Bacon suffered from asthma and his parents were traveling socialites. Because of this, he spent a lot of time on his own. Bacon was also a homosexual, which was not fully accepted as his time. His work tended to center around the theme of humanity’s ability to self-destruct, either as single person or on a global scale.
Screaming Popes
Bacon’s dedication to the Old Masters comes through in series knows as “Screaming Popes.” He uses Portrait of Pope Innocent X (c.1650) by Diego Velazquez as a basis for his series that depicts a wailing, distorted, skeletal Pope sitting on bright gold thrones.
These paintings highlight some of Bacon’s key ideas. They demonstrate that no one is immune to self-destruction, not even the proclaimed most holiest. These paintings may also be a condemnation of a religion that rejects Bacon because he’s homosexual. Screaming Popes could also suggest that religious convention, or strict adherence to convention, can lead to destruction on the a global scale.
The Screaming Popes are visually interesting with a good mix of dark colors with well-placed spots of vibrancy. The artist did a good job of drawing the viewers’ eyes to the Pope’s skull face in the center of the painting. The next thing that draws the eyes is the vertical streaks that dissect the Pope’s skull face. These streaks draw the eyes to the base of the painting and the Pope’s gold throne. The pieces take the vaguely familiar shape of a Pope, in a papal hat, on a throne and turn it into a distorted and somewhat disturbing figure. The effect is powerful and a little overwhelming.
Conclusion
Bacon’s work is intriguing because his forms are so clearly human, and yet supernaturally and surreally inhuman at the same time. His idea of physically showing inward torment through surreal figures is an interesting way to demonstrate his ideas on both art and humanity.
His work is sometimes creepy but it is almost always visually interesting. His figures use the abstract and surrealism to tell self-contained stories about his subjects and his ideas about society. Bacon’s adherence to the traditions of the Old Masters gives his works a classic feel while delivering contemporary figures.
