Francis Bacon's "Pope": Study After Velzquez & Beyond | Art Insights
Could a single painting truly capture the anguish of a generation, the fear of the atomic age, and the complexities of the human condition? Francis Bacon's "Study after Velzquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X" isn't just a painting; it's a visceral scream etched onto canvas, a mirror reflecting the anxieties of the postwar world.
The echoes of Diego Velzquez's masterful portrait of Pope Innocent X, created around 1650, reverberate through Bacon's oeuvre, yet the British artist's interpretation is a world apart. Bacon's painting, a distorted and emotionally charged response to Velzquez's original, is a powerful and unsettling work that continues to fascinate and provoke. "Study after Velzquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X" wasn't a one-off endeavor. It was a thematic obsession that consumed Bacon, manifesting in a series of around fifty portraits of Popes painted throughout the 1950s and into the early 1960s. Scholars have delved deep, seeking to decode the myriad inspirations and influences that converged in these works, attempting to understand the psychological underpinnings of Bacons disturbing yet compelling imagery.
| Category | Details |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Francis Bacon |
| Born | October 28, 1909, Dublin, Ireland |
| Died | April 28, 1992, Madrid, Spain |
| Nationality | British (born in Ireland) |
| Known For | Expressionist paintings characterized by their raw, violent, and disturbing imagery. Notably, his series of "Screaming Pope" paintings. |
| Artistic Style | Figurative, Expressionist, Surrealist influences |
| Key Themes | Human isolation, mortality, suffering, the body, and power. |
| Education | Self-taught |
| Major Works | "Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion" (1944), "Study after Velzquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X" (1953), "Figure with Meat" (1954), and numerous portraits. |
| Influences | Diego Velzquez, Nicolas Poussin, Vincent van Gogh, Pablo Picasso, and photography, particularly Eadweard Muybridge's photographic studies of movement. |
| Exhibitions | Numerous major exhibitions worldwide, including the Institute of Contemporary Arts (ICA) in London in 1955, The Marlborough Gallery (1993), and The Tate. |
| Legacy | Considered one of the most important and influential artists of the 20th century. His work continues to command high prices and is held in major collections around the globe. His art is still taught and studied in art history and art schools. |
| Reference | Tate Modern - Francis Bacon |
The genesis of this iconic image can be traced back to Bacon's fascination with Velzquezs portrait. Bacon admitted he was "haunted" by Velzquez's original. Bacon spent 20 years studying Velazquezs Pope Innocent X, poring over black and white reproductions in textbooks, and he highly respected the Spanish master. While Bacon never actually saw the original in person, its influence on him was profound. As the title suggests, Francis Bacons study after Velazquezs portrait of Innocent X (1953) was inspired by the 17th century portrait Pope Innocent X (1650) by Spanish painter Diego Velazquez. Created with oil on canvas, the painting shows a distorted version of portrait of Pope Innocent X by Spanish artist Diego Velzquez, created around 1650.
The "screaming pope" isn't just a representation of a religious figure; it's a vessel for Bacon's exploration of human suffering and the anxieties of the era. The painting is a hauntingly dark work which shows what appears to be a screaming pope on a golden throne with vertical lines that blur the image as if covered by a curtain. The picture, bacon's first of a pope, is currently on view in museums. Bacon's most recognizable image, and hence most famous painting, is the screaming pope of study after vel\u00e1zquez\u2019s portrait of pope innocent x, 1953. It was painted in 1953 and the image of the pope, especially in this pose, comes up very, very often in bacon's work. The screaming, snarling or otherwise distorted pope is one of his most famous images.
Bacons artistic process was often described as "accidental," with the final product frequently diverging from his initial vision. In the famous David Sylvester interview with Bacon the artist confessed that most of his art was \u201caccidental\u201d, that what he initially visualised would rarely become the finished work. His technique, characterized by a raw and visceral approach, mirrored the emotional intensity of his subjects. The painting which was done in 1953 is a hauntingly dark work which shows what appears to be a screaming pope on a golden throne with vertical lines that blur the image as if covered by a curtain. Even the addition of spectacles, a recurring motif, hinted at a deeper layer of interpretation.
The Institute of Contemporary Arts in London hosted an exhibition on January 19, 1955, organized by Peter Watson, which showcased Bacon's "Study after Velzquez." The influence of Velzquez's portrait is undeniable, but Bacon transformed it, imbuing it with a new level of intensity. Bacon was already exploring the idea while in the south of france in late 1946. The unsettling image of the screaming pope, with its distorted features and claustrophobic composition, has become one of Bacons most recognizable and most famous paintings. During the late 1940s and early 1950s Francis Bacon developed what was to become his most famous image. The painting which was done in 1953 is a hauntingly dark work which shows what appears to be a screaming pope on a golden throne with vertical lines that blur the image as if covered by a curtain.
Bacons work, though deeply personal, also captured the zeitgeist of the time. The postwar period was marked by anxiety, uncertainty, and the shadow of the atomic bomb. The screaming pope, with its evocation of terror and vulnerability, became a powerful symbol of this era. The picture was inspired by diego vel\u00e1zquez\u2019s extraordinarily lifelike portrait of a powerful and unscrupulous pope who duplicitously took the name innocent. In fact, bacon was fascinated with the figure of the pope throughout the 1950s and and the early 1960s, painting around fifty portraits of the . His work found a place in many institutions and galleries across the globe. Among the most important of these works are hello mister bacon (1981), which puts into abyme francis bacon's study after vel\u00e1zquez's portrait of pope innocent x, i love the neutron bomb (1982).
Bacon's art pushes boundaries and forces viewers to confront uncomfortable truths about the human condition. I first came across bacons work in the imperial war museum, when i was about 10. I found his work very strange. He worked on his pope paintings, variations on vel\u00e1zquez\u2019s magnificent portrait of pope innocent x, for over twenty years. "Study after Velzquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X" is more than just a painting; it's a testament to the power of art to reflect and shape our understanding of ourselves and the world around us. The Marlborough gallery inc april 1993 showcased some of his important works.
The Gasogian in London hosted the exhibition "Couplings" until August 3, 2019, showcasing another facet of Bacon's work and highlighting his enduring relevance. During the summer and fall of 1952, francis bacon painted a series of six small portrait heads. This assumption is given more credence by the addition of spectacles, something bacon used in several portraits, often in relation to another of his favourite images, the screaming face of the nanny in eisenstein. "Study after Velzquez's portrait of pope innocent x." This is a painting by the british artist, painter francis bacon. The picture is called study after vel\u00e1zquez's portrait of pope innocent x. "Lo sagrado y lo profano / the sacred and the profane;". Catalogue raisonn\u00e9 by martin harrison and rebecca. Art, neuroscience and psychology, francis bacon studies (1) (london: The estate of francis bacon, 2019). Important paintings from the estate (42 works by francis bacon + other illustrations), new york: Tony shafrazi gallery 31 oct. Francis bacon, photography, film and the practice of painting (london: 154 (titled 'study of a pope (second version)') francis bacon and nazi propaganda ( london: Tate publishing , 2012 ).
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