Francis Bacon Critique One

Francis Bacon's oil on canvas expressionist painting entitled "Figure with Meat" portrays Pope Innocent X. Pope Innocent X was born Giovanni Battista Pamphilj and his papacy began in 1644 and ended in 1655. During that time, he was featured in many portraits by Spanish painter Diego Velázquez de Silva. Bacon’s painting originated in England in 1953 and he modeled his image after Valazquez's pieces.

The painting exhibits the Pope sitting in a chair while the carcass of a dead cow is bisected and hanging from the ceiling behind him. The focus and light on both juxtapositioned pieces are balanced. Though the Pope is in the foreground of the image, the carcass in the background is the focal point. At first glance, the meat seems to tower over the Pope in the chair and conveys a feeling of superiority, as if the Pope is somehow less than the meat itself. Also, the pained expression on the Pope's face seems as if he is crying out in agony, and his hands are clenched into fists. His skin does not have the pink pigment or bright hue of a living person, as he appears to have the cold, gray skin of some ghostly apparition. There is an emphasis placed on the ribs of the animal, as if it had been entirely hollowed out. The red tones are complimentary to the dark blue hues on the Pope's robe.

The image is modeled after Valazquez's work, yet the emotions being provoked upon sight are entirely different. Valazquez's pieces were simple portraits of the Pope, whereas Bacon's piece is somewhat horrifying and creates many questions. Is the image supplying a commentary on religion in some way, perhaps suggesting that Pope Innocent is not innocent at all; a butcher who hollows out his followers? Could the agonized look, pale skin, and hanging carcass show a fear of death and the unknown, that even those who believe in life after death have reason to fear? This piece is exhibited around the world because of its haunting matter and the questions it creates.