Francis Bacon

Concept:

Figurative expressionism , surrealistic
Fused horrific imager with traditional religious or literary sources, depicting crucifixions, screaming popes, and tortured bodies as he transcribed the brutality and isolation of those pushed to the limits of endurance.
Independent
Pre-eminent painters of the post-war era
Distortion of humans  distorts face in violent ways  wounded or screaming
Provocative blurring and highlighting of anatomy gave a new degree of physicality to classical themes such as the crucifixion and classical works
His sexuality  homosexual
Following the holocaust of WW2, bacon’s approach is emotional and expressive. He pushes his theme further than most artists to a point of psychic distress and hysteria

Themes:
 obsession with physical form
 wrestling, body movement, impairment, religious iconography such as the Pope and the Crucifixion
 alienation and anguish
Violent strength of each painting
Motif  human frailty  shortcomings of the physical form  shortcomings of the inner self  eg. Subject is the terror of his screaming Popes of the clinging fear of his “Two Figures in a Window” (1953)
Shows a sense of despair of a fellow sufferer
His art makes the audience see the world in a different way  confronts us and forces us to look at ourselves with a sense of directness that is frightening yet mesmerizing
Inspire instinctual reactions from people, affecting the nervous system directly
Meant to affect the viewer on a SUBCONSCIOUS level, not just representing fear but instilling it

Devotion to the monstrous, deformed and diseased  as a reaction to the plight of the world and humanity
Use of symbolism
Recurrent themes
Portrait heads
Crucifixtions
Human alienation
War
Images of meat  provocative tools
‘the dictator’
Technique:
Skilful, direct rendering of the textures of flesh, satin, lace, metal – delicate glazes set of the highlights of impasto
Colour: rich, warm and