Francisco Goya "Saturn Devouring His Son"

Fransisco Goya’s painting entitled “Saturn Devouring His Son” is part of a series called the “Black Paintings”, painted on the walls of his dining room in his house on the banks of Manzananos. The image portrays the god Saturn eating one of his children, and is modeled after Ruben’s 1630 image which was much more refined. The painting portrays the Roman myth of the god Saturn devouring his sons out of fear that they would someday kill him, and take on his role as a god. Following Goya’s death in 1836, the “Black Paintings” were transferred onto canvas.

The painting exhibits a crazed man eating a corpse. The image is comprised primarily of earth tones, with hues of crimson, russet, and brown. The figurative Saturn is devouring the left arm of the corpse, and the head and right arm are gone. The focal point of the piece is the blood dripping from the corpse’s fresh wounds and also Saturn’s insane expression. His eyes are protruding, and he is kneeling on the ground in a very animal like way. There is a special emphasis on the blood on the corpse and in Saturn’s hands. There is an evident chiaroscuro, and the overhead light is primarily on the shoulders, face, and legs of Saturn as well as on the corpse. The field is black to emphasize the violent scene, and Saturn’s body is a subtle gray.

The image is modeled after Ruben’s work in 1630, yet the emotions being provoked are entirely different, as Ruben’s pieces were more refined and Saturn was portrayed much more elegantly. In Goya’s piece, Saturn is primitive looking and has a distraught expression on his face. Also, Goya’s work is much more horrific than Ruben’s, as the blood is more noticeable and the corpse is badly deformed. The image is based on the ancient myth of a man in fear of his children. It represents the betrayal of a child attempting to kill their father, and a father’s greed which leads to the murdering and consumption of all his children. This image and all of the “Black Pieces” are very well known because of their horrifying images.

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.