An Analysis on “Study after Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X” By Francis Bacon
“Study after Velázquez’s Portrait of Pope Innocent X” by Francis Bacon, is a painting created in 1953, which depicts a distorted perspective of how religion is viewed.
Francis Bacon was inspired by Diego Velazquez’s painting, “Portrait of Innocent X”, and expressed his atheist perspective by altering parts of the original painting, making it his own unique version. While Bacon says that he only used this painting as an excuse to try out different colors, there must be a deeper purpose in creating such a daunting piece.
The main focus of this painting is the dark colors, along with the terrifying face of the pope depicted in the picture. While Bacon was not explicit with his purposes of creating this piece, it can be implied that his belief in atheism is what drove his intentions. Conveyed through the demonic face of the supposed “Pope”, it can be shown that Bacon emphasized a certain opposition to some beliefs of religion. While the painting is generally composed of darker colors, Bacon incorporates the color gold, perhaps as an emphasis of something else.
The color palette, being mainly black, purple, and white, is used to emphasize a negative theme. The color black often represents and evokes emotions of power and authority. The color white often represents qualities of being stark and cold. The color purple often represents decadence and pomposity. These choices can be justified, as Bacon expresses his atheist perspective on religion, as atheism is the belief that any form of god does not exist.
In addition to the usage of color, he incorporates a replacement of the face of the Pope from the original painting, and completely changes it. The facial expression of the Pope conveys that the Pope is about to scream in despair. Through the use of the Pope’s face, Bacon could perhaps be conveying that the very existence of a God has caused corruption, based on how inhuman the Pope is depicted. Along with the Pope’s demonic appearance, Bacon places the body of the Pope on top of a golden chair. The color gold often represents sacredness and truth. Bacon could be conveying that a world without a God is the true version of the world, and rather than worshiping God, worshipping the truth is more important.
Visually expressing Bacon’s atheist views, this painting shows one of many different perspectives on religion.
