EARLY LIfe
Born in Dublin in 1909, he left home as a teenager after clashes with his father, partly over his sexuality
Who is Francis Bacon?
He looked to this Old Master’s portrait of Pope Innocent X for a famous reworking
Who is Velázquez? (veh-LAH-skehs)
Big themes: suffering, power, isolation, and this big topic about people.
What is the human condition?
He used this paint on canvas or board and often scrubbed it back.
What is oil paint?
Three strange figures on bright orange in 1944.
What is Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion?
This chronic condition kept him out of regular school and heightened sensitivity to the body’s fragility
What is asthma?
Film clips, medical pictures, and these “movement” photos guided his poses.
What are motion studies/photos (e.g., Muybridge)?
He kept the figure but pushed emotion, linked to this movement.
What is Expressionism?
he type of portrait he skipped because he didn’t want to upset real sitters
What is painting from life (live sittings)?
A screaming pope behind thin bars and curtains.
What is Study after Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X?
Though Irish-born, he lived mainly in this city where much of his career unfolded.
What is London?
movement about dreams and the unconscious shaped his ideas.
What is Surrealism?
Growing up with unrest and war made this force feel very real.
What is authority/power?
He kept photo archives in the studio instead of using these.
What are live models?
These mythic “punishers” inspired the 1944 figures.
Who are the Greek Furies?
Without formal art school, he relied on photos, travel, and experiments in the studio for training
What is self-taught?
Mixing old poses with modern twists helped him question this.
What is power and tradition?
Looking at Velázquez in a modern way helped him challenge this.
What is tradition/power?
He’d paint the same person again with tiny changes to check how this feeling changed.
What is emotion?
The pope painting shows power turning into fear with this mouth shape.
What is a scream/open mouth?
Stints in two European capitals immersed him in modern art and design, refining his eye.
What are Berlin and Paris
Viewers after WWII were ready for art about fear and pain—like this 1944 work.
What is Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion?
His main goal: hit viewers with this instead of “pretty” pictures.
What is emotional impact?
Using press, medical, and Muybridge pictures let him twist the figure without this kind of school training.
What is formal anatomy/art school training?
He planned a bigger crucifixion scene; these figures would have stood here.
What is at the base of the cross