The streaky image looks like it might have come from a dark place. Portraits of Popes are mean to pieces of fine art, depicting the subject in the best possible light. Bacon on the other hand exposes this pope as a dark fiend. Although the image is depicting Pope Innocent X, the dark screaming face suggests otherwise. The lack of clarity in the image also tells a story about how much you really know someone from just an image. Images and paintings especially can be altered to the artists desire - so the subject may be far more attractive or visually appealing than in real life. I believe Francis Bacon is trying to get this point across with his piece - even the pope, the head of the Catholic Church, isn't all that he seems - he may also be hiding a dark side. I really like the strong fast lines in the images, which contrast the original images careful attention to detail. Bacon has really just taken every element of a professional portrait and changed it to create this new, and at the time, racy and dangerous imagery.
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