Two Studies for a Portrait of Richard Chopping 1978

Francis Bacon made these two oil studies for a portrait of Richard Chopping sometime in the last century. Look at the way that purple paint is applied to the face, almost like a bruise, and the way the features seem to slip and slide around. I bet Bacon was really feeling something when he made this. Maybe it was the angst of trying to capture someone's likeness, or maybe it was just the pure, unadulterated joy of pushing paint around. I can see him wrestling with the medium, trying to get it to do what he wanted, but also letting it have its own way. The paint is neither too thick nor too thin, but it's just right, you know? That smear of white in the left panel, like a tear, is especially poignant, it reminds me of his other portraits, like the screaming popes, where he’s also showing his subjects under extreme stress. Artists are always in conversation with one another, but maybe more importantly, they're in conversation with themselves, trying to figure things out, one brushstroke at a time.