Study of the Human Body 1982

Francis Bacon painted this unsettling Study of the Human Body, probably in London, using oil on canvas. Look at that screaming red background, that weird fleshy form atop a table, and those shoes! Bacon’s paintings aren’t easy, are they? I imagine him wrestling with this image, trying to get at something raw and true. Thick paint, thin paint, wiped away, built up again—it's all there, a record of the struggle. And that gesture, the way he painted those feet dangling off the table, it's both awkward and vulnerable, right? Like a puppet whose strings have been cut. Bacon was always looking at other artists, like Velázquez and Picasso, but he twisted their ideas into something completely his own. He’s teaching us that painting can be a way to express the messy, contradictory experience of being human. Ultimately, the act of painting is an experiment and a conversation. Each artist learns from those who came before, adding their voice to the mix. It's an ongoing dialogue, full of questions and possibilities.