FRANCIS BACON
Francis Bacon, an Irish artist known for his surrealist and disturbing work, is somewhat predictable as the choice for
my favourite artist. Growing up, I was always interested in somewhat disturbing ideas and media. Although I was a
fairly happy kid, I just had this innate attraction to horrific ideas and images, albeit through a childish lens – my
favourite film was The Nightmare Before Christmas, and my favourite book was the Goosebumps version of
Phantom of the Opera.
These interests were not deemed especially unusual, but the way I expressed them was. I particularly remember, at
around the age of five or six, drawing a picture of a vampire with blood around its mouth. My teacher was, I suppose
understandably, a little concerned about this, but I could only react with a sense of annoyance. I didn’t like the
implications of her concern, that there were things I had to restrain myself from expressing, for the benefit of…who?
What? So people could be more comfortable? I felt that would be lying somehow. I liked vampires! I wanted to draw
them, I thought they were cool. Why couldn’t I express what I wanted to, or how the world was, even if it wasn’t
perfect, or cute? This was something I often experienced but couldn’t quite articulate as a child – how strange it
seemed to me that people sought to avoid anything dark or depressing.
I think my attraction to dark subject matter did partially come from personal lived circumstances – I moved
countries twice as a young child, leading to feelings of loneliness, not quite belonging amongst the other children –
as well as a kind of existentialism about the sheer size of the world. When I got older, I started to realise I was
attracted to women, which I don’t think requires explanation of how it might bring some difficulties into a young
person’s life.
[Link]
study after Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X"** by **Francis Bacon** (1953).
1. **Distorted Features:** The Pope’s face is contorted into a scream, with his mouth open wide and
eyes hollowed out. This expression evokes a visceral sense of agony and horror, creating a sense of
disgust.
2. **Dripping Paint:** Bacon uses vertical, dripping lines that appear to melt the figure into the
background. This effect gives a sense of disintegration and decay, evoking discomfort and a feeling of
corruption.
3. **Screaming Mouth:** The wide-open mouth, inspired by the film still of a screaming nurse in **Sergei
Eisenstein’s "Battleship Potemkin"**, conveys primal fear and anguish, which can be unsettling and
repulsive.
4. **Dark, Claustrophobic Setting:** The background is a series of oppressive, dark, curtain-like lines,
creating a cage-like effect around the Pope. This claustrophobic atmosphere intensifies the emotional
tension and sense of suffering.
5. **Violent Brushstrokes:** Bacon’s aggressive, chaotic brushstrokes convey violence and
psychological torment, further emphasizing the theme of existential horror.
Vision
Francis Bacon was fascinated by human suffering and the raw, existential condition of humanity. He was
influenced by Diego Velázquez’s 1650 portrait of Pope Innocent X but chose to subvert it, stripping away
the regal dignity and revealing a tormented, grotesque figure. Bacon was less interested in depicting
power and more focused on exposing the vulnerability and horror beneath the surface. The screaming
figure is a recurring motif in his work, symbolizing existential dread and the fragility of human
existence.
[Link]
The artwork you uploaded is **"Second Version of Triptych 1944"** by **Francis Bacon**,
created in 1988.
1. **Butchered Carcass:** The prominent display of animal carcasses hanging behind the
central figure is reminiscent of meat in a slaughterhouse. The flayed, visceral appearance
evokes a sense of decay and raw brutality, provoking a visceral reaction of disgust. Bacon
was heavily influenced by the sight of animal carcasses in butcher shops, associating them
with the fragility and vulnerability of human flesh.
2. **Dehumanization and Distortion:** The central figure’s face is grotesquely distorted, with
fragmented, overlapping features that create a monstrous, unsettling appearance. This
deliberate distortion dehumanizes the subject, evoking both pity and revulsion.
3. **Sickly Yellow Background:** The harsh, acidic yellow background is jarring and
unsettling, heightening the psychological intensity and discomfort. The color choice suggests
decay, disease, and a sickly atmosphere.
4. **Umbrella and Splayed Meat:** The figure appears hunched under an umbrella, a
seemingly futile attempt to shield himself from the grotesque surroundings. The umbrella
juxtaposed with the raw, splayed meat suggests a clash between civilized human behavior
and animalistic brutality.
5. **Isolation and Desperation:** The figure is isolated, seated in a confined, ambiguous
space, amplifying a sense of entrapment and existential dread. The composition creates a
sense of claustrophobia and psychological distress, further provoking discomfort and
disgust.
Vision
Francis Bacon was known for his exploration of existential horror, human suffering, and the
fragile, transient nature of life. His repeated use of carcasses and butchered meat reflects
his preoccupation with the animalistic aspects of the human condition, portraying humans as
mere flesh, vulnerable and perishable. In this work, the viewer is confronted with a disturbing
amalgamation of life and death, civilization and savagery — a visual representation of the
grotesque, visceral side of existence.
The artwork you
uploaded is "Triptych
August 1972"** by
Francis Bacon**.
1. Distorted Flesh and Decomposition:
○ The central panel shows a mass of fleshy, melting, almost amorphous forms that suggest decay and decomposition. The undulating, viscous shapes evoke the grotesque, reminding the viewer of raw, decomposing
flesh. This visceral, organic form generates a sense of physical disgust.
2. Fragmented, Disfigured Bodies:
○ The figures in the left and right panels are seated in awkward, vulnerable positions, with contorted, grotesque features. Their faces and bodies appear partially disintegrated, as if melting or eroding. This distortion
dehumanizes them, eliciting discomfort and revulsion.
3. Flesh-Toned Palette and Slick, Oily Textures:
○ The use of fleshy pinks, purples, and sickly yellows creates a sense of raw, exposed skin, reminiscent of meat or viscera. The slick, almost slimy textures contribute to a sense of decay and corruption, heightening the
feeling of disgust.
4. Isolation and Emptiness:
○ The empty, oppressive background emphasizes the isolation and alienation of the figures, creating a clinical, almost morgue-like atmosphere. The void-like black spaces evoke a sense of emptiness, amplifying the
existential dread and existential decay.
5. Personal Grief and Death:
○ This triptych was created shortly after the suicide of Bacon’s lover, George Dyer, and it is widely interpreted as a meditation on death, loss, and the visceral reality of the human body. The central panel can be seen
as a depiction of Dyer’s death, his body dissolving into an amorphous, liquefied state, evoking both the physical reality of death
Bacon often explored the brutality of existence and the frailty of the human body, using grotesque, visceral imagery to evoke a sense of existential horror. In this work, the intense, distorted forms are not only physical but also psychological
manifestations of grief, mortality, and disintegration. The viewer is forced to confront the raw, visceral nature of the human condition, provoking a reaction of both disgust and profound empathy.