Pope II is a portrait from 1961, part of the vast series of paintings that Bacon devoted to the pontiffs — reinterpreting Diego Velázquez's famous portrait of Innocent X. In Pope II the papal figure sits on a bare, essential throne against a completely black background that isolates its presence. Bacon retains the austere, solemn pose of the prototype, but transforms the figure into an image of anguish: it seems trapped in a kind of metaphysical cage, with the tension of the flesh made visible.
There is no glory or comfort: divine authority is translated into human vulnerability. Every element — the violence of the painterly gesture, the rawness of the face, the absence of colour — gives the pope a sense of existential exile, as if condemned to eternal suffering. The painting speaks not only of power but of fragility, isolation and the brutality of human life.
Unique quality material
Print on handmade Amalfi paper Sheet size: 29 x 42 cm (11.4 x 16.5 in) With frame: 31 x 44 cm (12.2 x 17.3 in) Material: artwork printed on very fine handmade Amalfi paper with deckled edges Frame: light brown beech wood and wood pulp, handmade
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