This artwork is protected by copyright. We cannot display images of works by artists who passed away after 1954.
by Francis Bacon, 1953
Francis Bacon transformed Velázquez's serene portrait of Pope Innocent X into a screaming nightmare. The pope appears trapped behind vertical lines suggesting a cage or throne, his mouth open in a silent howl. Purple and black envelop the distorted figure.
Bacon never saw the original Velázquez in person, working only from reproductions. He painted over 50 variations on the screaming pope theme between 1949 and 1971. The image channels postwar existential anguish through art historical quotation. The contrast between the pope's authority and his apparent terror creates visceral unease.
It hangs at the Des Moines Art Center in Iowa.
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