Francis Bacon's painting, Study after Velasquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X, immediately drew my attention. The painting consists of Pope Innocent the tenth sitting in his throne. The painting is not so boring as it may sound however. The Pope's face is pale and hardly distinguishable. His face is contorted into what seems to be a hellish scream. The black stripes in the background overlaying the canvas, is overlapping and painted vertically, giving me the sense that the Pope is maybe being pulled into a different place. Maybe heaven, he is the Pope perhaps his time has come. His scream suggests otherwise that maybe he is being pulled to hell.
This painting is not thick and layered with paint but thinly painted and in some spots the canvas is clearly visible. This I feel adds to the overall visual effect of this painting. The visible canvas accents the gold throne and adds a glow of light as if maybe he is in fact, ascending to heaven. However it may go the other way around. Perhaps the Pope is fading into the black and the gold is just the last rays of fading light. There is a lot to be seen from this painting. “we miss things, and often times we miss things that are right there for us to observe”(pg.56). I did not at first glance notice, but after a little while of studying the painting I realized that the Pope has no legs. The black streaks coming from the Popes gown maybe giving a clue as to why.
This painting draws out a sense of wonder and curiosity. It raises questions that do not have any right answer to. Only the individual observing can answer.
Work Cited:
Martin, F. David, and Lee A. Jacobus. The Humanities Through the Arts . 6 th ed. Boston: McGraw Hill, 2004.
