Studies of George Dyer and Isabel Rawsthorne 1970

These portraits of George Dyer and Isabel Rawsthorne by Francis Bacon show how he paints from instinct, almost like a wound opening on the canvas. Look at how Bacon uses thin layers of paint, building up these raw, unflinching images. It’s like he's peeling back layers of skin and bone, revealing the vulnerability underneath. See the way he attacks the faces, smearing and distorting the features, but still capturing a sense of likeness. The black void to the left is like a shadow eclipsing the figure, a reminder of mortality. It reminds me of how Philip Guston embraced figuration, not to represent the world, but to grapple with its absurdities. Bacon’s work isn’t about perfection, it's about the messy, imperfect reality of being human. Just like life, there are no easy answers here, only more questions.