Study of a Head 1952

Francis Bacon made this Study of a Head with oil on canvas; it's not dated, but it's one of his early works. What strikes me is how Bacon isn't trying to paint a likeness so much as an experience. The process feels more like wrestling with the medium than carefully applying it. Look at how the paint is smeared and scrubbed into the canvas, especially around the mouth and eyes. There’s this incredible tension between the raw, almost violent application of paint and the delicate, almost translucent washes of color. The paint is both thick and thin, transparent and opaque. In the top left, notice the single, almost frantic stroke of white paint shooting from the figure's head. It’s like a scream visualized, an eruption of pure emotion rendered in paint. Bacon’s work always reminds me a bit of Goya. Both artists share a similar interest in the darker aspects of the human condition. What they’re both doing is embracing ambiguity; it’s an ongoing conversation, one that we’re all invited to join.