Study for a Pope III 1961

This is Francis Bacon, everyone. In this piece, thick daubs of pigment form a figure emerging from the abyss of a black ground, like a ghost conjured with umber and red. I can almost feel him there in the studio, wrestling with the slippery qualities of oil paint to create the folds of the Pope’s cape, the weight of its fabric, and the feeling of being trapped, maybe by the throne. It is as though the form is simultaneously coming together and falling apart. There’s a painting by Velázquez that comes to mind; Bacon looked at Old Masters in order to push painting to its limits. His approach resonates with artists who embrace messiness, uncertainty, and the unpredictable nature of the medium. These are the kinds of painters always in dialogue, speaking through their work, pushing boundaries and finding new ways to express the complexities of human experience.