Francis Bacon and the Painting Henry VI - Essay Example

Bacon used glazing in the white drapery of the pope.
The narrative is that the pope is seen screaming and yet we do not hear any voice which is symbolic of him being silenced by the shroud of falling colors from above. Bacon in his interviews says that he has nothing against the Popes but his paintings detest them.

The painting Henry VI is about the same subject – Pope Innocent X but is a product of an overworked painting that the canvass almost clogged. This work is thickly painted with oil on canvas and without the use of glaze such as the earlier work on the Pope.

Its narrative is similar to the Pope screaming but is silenced by the dark colors. Curiously, this one is a bit different because he is caged in a transparent box suggesting that the man inside may have been suffocated and that he had to scream. Read More