Study for Portrait of Van Gogh III 1957

Curator: The work before us is Francis Bacon’s 1957 oil on canvas, *Study for Portrait of Van Gogh III*. It’s part of a series exploring the artist's fascination with Van Gogh, and it presents quite a raw image, doesn’t it? Editor: Raw is right! My first thought: what an earth-scorched, desperate scene. The figure appears consumed—or consuming—with everything around them. Those reds and yellows churning! What’s the story of agony we’re diving into here? Curator: The agony, as you say, has powerful symbolic precedents. Bacon was drawn to Van Gogh's intense vision and his own turbulent life. This painting seems less a literal portrait and more a vehicle to explore themes of existential anguish—painted after Bacon’s intensive study of Van Gogh's letters. Editor: Knowing that certainly heightens the experience. There is an unnerving lack of softness in the brushstrokes, almost violence—but this somehow captures the way mental landscapes warp when viewed from the inside. That figure seems devoured by landscape, as if becoming one. Curator: Absolutely. The surrounding landscape, reminiscent of Van Gogh's fields, acts almost as an external manifestation of the subject’s internal turmoil. It highlights that merging between subject and surroundings, in effect creating a modern Passion narrative through abstracted form and expressive color. Red, often associated with danger, sacrifice, violence, or blood. Editor: It makes me think about the idea of a 'tortured artist' trope. This piece isn’t romanticizing suffering, it’s almost a dissection. I can sense the influence of Surrealism—the unexpected combinations, distorted forms. There’s even some gallows humour to me, particularly how he’s positioned with that jaunty hat. Like he is facing a storm front. Curator: Interesting point about humour. I had not picked up that suggestion of 'jaunty' there—yet that very paradox certainly opens avenues into considering dark elements of performance within his inner drama, and how Bacon’s psychology might view a shared performance across generations. It presents him on the very brink. Editor: Exactly. I am ready to read a whole biography just within those strokes. Thank you. Curator: The pleasure is entirely mine.