Head II 1958

Francis Bacon made *Head II* using oil paint, and it’s a trip, right? The colours and marks are all about the gut punch of process. Look at the face, how it’s flushed with pinks and reds, like a fever dream against that cool blue ground. The paint isn’t trying to hide anything. It’s thin in places, thick in others, like he was wrestling with the surface, trying to pin down something elusive. The way the mouth is just barely there, a smudge of red, speaks volumes. You can almost feel the anxiety, the struggle, in each brushstroke. It reminds me of another head case, Philip Guston, who was also obsessed with the raw, messy truth of being human. Bacon doesn’t give us easy answers, and that’s what makes it so compelling. Art isn’t about clarity, it’s about the endless conversation.