Francis Bacon, an Irish Figurative painter born in 1909, is known for his unique portrayal of the human figure, which he tends to horribly distort. He is well known for his multiple renditions of a "Portrait of a Pope", as well as the numerous triptychs that he has done (most notably the Triptychs depicting the scene of George Dyers death).
Bacon's youth was a troubled one, as his family moved frequently when he was young, giving him a lasting feeling of displacement. He discovered his homosexuality at the age of 14, and was eventually kicked out of his family's home at the age of 16 when his parents caught him trying on his mother's undergarments.
Bacon started out his artistic career as an interior decorator/designer, but soon discovered his passion for the fine arts and began painting in 1929. He painted many portraits of his friends as well as lovers, including numerous triptychs done of George Dyer, which are some of his most famous works. He did very few self-portraits, as he said that he "hated the look of his own face, and painted himself only out of necessity when he had nothing else to paint." He often painted his portraits with the figures in a similar pose, with their legs crossed, to give a feeling of being heavily anchored or weighed down.
Bacon is also very well-known for his renditions of Velazquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X. He claimed that he was haunted by the image and attempted to recreate his perception of the pope in many of his works, often portraying them as impotent, feeble men, being overwhelmed by the weight of their thrown. He chooses to focus on the man rather than the leader, and his weaknesses and vulnerabilities rather than his strengths.
His later work is characterized by his tendency to "reduce to a minimum to achieve a maximum effect." A good example of this would be his work "Blood on the Floor- Painting", in which Bacon distorts our perception by painting an ambiguous room or hallway, with no distinguishable features other than a splatter of blood on the floor, a light switch, and a light bulb.
Interesting tidbits:
Bacon said he enlisted distortion so as to "transform what is called appearance into image... If you want to convey fact, this can only ever be done through a form of distortion."
Bacon remarked that chance and accident were the most "fertile things at an artist's disposal"
Questions:
Why do you think Bacon portrays the Pope in such a way? What painting techniques does he use that heightens the effect?
Bacon portrays his figures in a very unique way, with distorted features and awkward poses, often giving a feeling of discomfort and disorientation. What emotion do you think Bacon is attempting to evoke from the viewer?
How do feel about Bacon's use of the triptych?
9 comments:
Obviously Bacon does not view the Pope as the secular and pure man he is generally distinguished as. The Pope is portrayed in an evil manner and emanates a daunting feeling. Perhaps it is facing expectations of the Catholic religion as gay man, or perhaps Bacon’s feelings on the Pope as an individual that made him portray the Pope in this way. I think this painting is really heightened by its lack of definition. It seems as though we can see through the Pope’s surface, to his inner being. This unique way of painting, along with awkward poses is probably used to take the viewer aback, whether it be out of fear, sadness, or confusion. His paintings have had a strong affect on me every time I have seen them. As far as the triptychs are concerned...I’ve never been a huge fan, however, once you hear Bacon’s story, the triptych makes the scene much stronger. They make you feel like the events are taking place right in front of you…yikes.
When Bacon suggested that a viewer can see the facts and the truth through distortion, I would have to agree. I think that his distortions accomplish this effectively and reach to something deep and meaningful. I feel most moved by Bacon's self portraits because the distortions are so precise, like he actually saw this image after looking in a mirror. His life and the impact of his experiences are seen in his paintings. The Pope paintings for instance are painful and emotionally charged indicating the feelings Bacon felt towards Catholicism, society, and perhaps spirituality/life.
Bacon must have thought that the triptych would make certain paintings stronger. It is evident that they provide a narrative and force the viewer to see the connections. They give more room for interpretation.
I agree with Lindsay's comment about triptych conveying narrative. When I see the three paintings in an order, grouped together in threes, I have to make some type of narrative or connection between them. I also think that the religious connection to the triptych is interesting in conveying meaning of the painting. i think about religious narratives and how saints or religious figures are portrayed, and what that means to how Bacon's subjects are portrayed. For example, the triptych of Bacon's friend dead--can we read that as a saintly death or something to be recorded and set to a narrative due to the fact that it is in triptych? Maybe the religious aspect is not what Bacon intended, but as the viewer, I connect triptych with old religious works and narrative and give it that interpretation.
When looking at the “portrait of a pope” it seems as though you are looking through to the other side of the pope, like a side that no one else could see because only praise were given to him. Bacon probably came from a very religious family, Roman Catholic I am guessing (Ireland) and when he was 16, he was kicked out of his house for being gay; a sin for those under the roman catholic practice. The painting makes me think of how he had to deal with those experiences. When someone grows up with religion and having it as a safe haven, then shunned away from it as they discover their sexuality, how are they supposed to deal with it? I can imagine that he had feelings of confusion and it makes sense that he was haunted by the image of the pope painted by Velazquez because it probably brought up emotions that he had suppressed. I think that he saw the church and those connected with it in a way that no one else could. Maybe that is why it tends to make people uncomfortable, because the pope is painted showing his inner demons (possibly even the inner demons of Bacon himself) and the negativity that can be demonstrated to those not following the ruling of the church.
Or maybe Bacon was simply trying to say that Pope Innocent had no depth to him. He was a puppet of the church, or of God, or maybe that he was a vain man who needed to get his priorities in line. Either way the depiction of him is not a pleasant one. I really like Bacon's use of the long, vertical brush strokes that go over the Pope, including the face, making him seem like a ghost (and since he doesn't have any feet). Also, the purple, black and yellow are pretty ominous colors. They add to the spooky look. And so does his mouth being open, as if he's shouting some satanic phrase. Maybe he's trying to tell the viewer to be wary of this Pope, the Catholic church in general, or all media sources and to take everything with a grain of salt.
I'd also like to point out his quote about how chance and accident were the most "fertile things at an artist's disposal." I see myself agreeing with this because often times I'll be painting and make errors (not the right color, too much paint, etc.) and just go with it because it adds something to the painting, in a good way.
~ben
i think that the way bacon portrays the pope makes him really scary...in the way were i feel like he's yelling at the viewer. i think that because of his upbringing in the Catholic church as well as his homosexuality, he might have some problems with the church, and therefore the pope.
i agree with the idea of the triptych as narrative element. it's very "the holy trinity" but also "past present future" but i think especially with the fact that he's portraying his lover's death, it becomes very storylike and reminds me of those really traumatic experiences people have where all you remember is snapshots and images of what happened.
I think it's interesting that Bacon readily depicts such literal expressions of the devastations he's incurred in his lifetime. I feel that a lot of artists, like "Turbo Man" from that Art 21 we watched, have to create a sort of escapist world to discuss certain topics, because reliving those events are too painful or emotional. I find Bacon's work very raw in content--he doesn't sugar coat anything for the viewer, or more interestingly, for himself. I am interested to know if Bacon looked at his works as a literal portrayal of his life or as an escapist world, since the painting style itself is very distorted and has a demonic and unrealistic quality to it.
I absolutely love Bacon's work. I think it is because as Mary pointed out its raw appeal. I feel that because Bacon is painting traumatic and emotional experiences that are meaningful to him they resonate with all of us in some way. Even if the viewer doesn't understand his work or learned his traumatic history, the emotion behind the work is still eminent. As far as using the triptych, I wouldn't be surprised if it was because of the Catholic background in his family. By using the religiously significant triptych Bacon might be suggesting the importance of the context and his own religious meaning in his work, like his lover's death.
The painting of the Pope is a work that I have admired since I first saw it early last semester. Influenced by the dark background and prominent brush strokes, I created my own painting that also dealt with a lot of emotion. I think that Bacon's painting is like Valasques', they're both stating that religion is not always white fluffy clouds filled with putti (the little baby angels), it can be a dark manipulative force. And, perhaps that the influence for that is his homosexuality in the Catholic religion, he was told it was wrong.
Bacon's rendering of the human form is by all means, distorted. But I think in some sense all paintings are a distorion of what is being studied or conveyed. In my opinion, even the most precisely realistic portraits convey a feeling to the viewer and ellude to the artist's emotions in some way.
I like that Bacon puts his feelings right on the table. You don't have to search for them or find the "hidden meaning." It is clear he has some anamosity towards the Pope or what the Pope stands for. Like Christy said, his Catholic upbringing clashes with his homosexuality, the very streaky brushstrokes convey that.
Then again, in some sense, I can see these Pope figures as self-portraits. The figure is ghostly or not completely there, it is angry, and contrasts starkly to it's background. It is alone yet almost bound to the chair. It could represent Bacon's relationship to Catholicism and the confusion he might have felt.
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