Francis Bacon At The Met
Pope Innocent X. No, really. Head VI, 1949.
In need of a culture fix for the month? Hit up the Metropolitan Museum of Art for their special exhibition “Francis Bacon: A Centenary Retrospective.” This year is the 100th anniversary of Bacon’s birth, and the Met has mounted a major exhibition of his work, which is disturbing, but also enormously compelling. The show is well worth a look both if you’re a fan of Bacon’s work and if he’s completely new to you.
I have to admit, I was entirely unfamiliar with Bacon’s work before going to see this exhibit; my reaction to the name “Francis Bacon” was “Essays, what?” Yeah, my education in the area of modern art is, shall we say, limited. Bacon’s paintings put me in mind of several of the most disturbing horror films I’ve ever seen — in strong colors and bold shapes, he explores themes of human vulnerability, sexuality, and bestiality. The exhibition contains a whole series of well-known paintings (including the one at top) inspired by Diego Velasquez’s portrait of Pope Innocent X. Figures melt into the background — or are they merging with the foreground? — disconnected body parts float around the canvas, and teeth are disturbingly clearly delineated. I personally liked several of the portraits, which have a faintly hallucinatory quality to them that retains its power without being quite as unnerving as some of the other paintings. I won’t pretend to be enough of an expert to be able to give you an evaluation of Bacon’s place among modern painters, but it’s a really interesting exhibit either way.
Here are a few images from the show; check the rest out any time between now and August 16, when the show ends.
Portrait of Michael Leiris, 1976.
Jet of Water, 1988. Orgasmic themes? Uh, yeah.
Painting, 1946.
i loved, loved, LOVED this show!