Study for Portrait VIII 1953

Francis Bacon made this painting, called Study for Portrait VIII, with oil paint, in tones of purple, grey, and gold, all on a black ground. You can see the act of painting here – the shifting and emerging of the figure through trial, error, and intuition. I sympathize with Bacon. I can imagine him pacing around his studio, wrestling with how to capture a feeling. I see a particular purple stroke which might communicate a feeling, an intention, a meaning. It's as though the paint were thrown at the canvas. But then, the gold lines are carefully rendered! What does this mean? Bacon was in an ongoing conversation with other artists across time, inspiring their creativity, exchanging ideas. Painting is a form of expression that embraces ambiguity and uncertainty, allowing multiple interpretations, rather than one definitive reading. What do you think?