Comparative Study: Artworks Of Francis Bacon And Artworks Of Edvard Munch
In this Comparative Study, I will compare two Artworks of Francis Bacon and two artworks from Edvard Munch. I will focus on formal qualities in their work, such as Color and Line. I will also investigate, compare and contrast things such as artistic style, themes, and culture. Both artists have inspired my artwork. In themes and style, whether in school or for personal enjoyment of artwork. Especially with darker themes in work, gore-ish shapes/disturbing imagery, and stylistic choices. Though the artists have some obvious similarities, such as being both european artists in close proximity to each other, they worked in different art periods when they first went into art, and kept with them, even with an overlap in their periods of work. They both also carry some heavy themes of twisted or even lonely people or objects. This will be further discussed in the Comparative Study, as I dive further into their works and into their character.
Evaluation of Cultural Significance of Francis Bacon
Surrealist art was significant during the mid 1920’s and lasted through the mid 1960’s. The movement was sought to see the unconscious unlocking of the imagination. It was dedicated to express the imagination without conscious control to limit what they could make with reason and convention. It was particularly popular during the space of time between the first and second world wars. Some artists that are linked to this movement are artists like Duchamp, O’Keeffe, Dali, and Picasso.
Francis Bacon was a painter from 1909 to 1992. Bacon experienced many hardships throughout his life. Bacon was an openly gay/homosexual man during a time where homosexuality was seen as an illness and was countered with hospitalization and imprisonment, Bacon suffered from abuse from family and those around him. His homosexuality was reflected in his artwork as he often created pieces of men ‘making love’, for lack of a better term, or interacting with one another, which was incredibly scrutinized. Bacon lived through the experiences of the second World War and is (now) considered one of the greatest post World War Two Artists. His art style was influenced by Picasso and Cubism in his beginning works, with more warped and geometric shapes, (especially in the face) then turned more towards Surrealism. Most of his work are large and depict a single person screaming or in pain, or dreary mood placed behind bars or in front of black backgrounds, enforcing his themes of pain and dreariness.
He wanted to capture the despair and sadness in the figures in his works. A majority of his portraits have disfigured or warped faces and hanging animal cascasses. His famous ‘Screaming Pope’ paintings were inspired by a painting made by Diego Velázquez, of Pope Innocent X, in 1650. A common theme throughout his body of work was to show the suffering we all feel while reflecting his tough past. As for the color scheme, mainly cool colors are rather prominent, however warmer colors like yellow are used often as a pop of color and to attract the eye. His work is worth Millions today.
Figure in a Landscape (1957) – Francis Bacon
As for the color scheme, black, blue, white and yellow are rather prominent. This painting is called A Study for a Head painted by Francis Bacon in 1952. When looking closely at the work it can be seen that the figure is made up of quick and thick brushstrokes, using many subtle and contrasting colors to create contour in the work. The empty black space left between lines in the background gives the illusion of depth into the empty darkness that are prominent in his works. An interesting detail is that although the shapes aren’t clearly defined it is easy to make out where all the features are located and how they form facial features. This stroke of the paint is especially seen in the main figure. You can see where his nose, brows, glasses, folds in his clothing and even where his teeth are. It seems as though Bacon created images by adding light to them as opposed to darkening shapes, creating the contrast from the darkness in his works. His shadows were already present in the black background, he used colors in areas where light could show them, again making the illusion of depth.
Another observation to make is that no color is truly bright, even the white such as in the collar of this painting is dulled with the use of gray, and the yellow dulled to make the bars look rustic, but contrast enough to draw the eye. His paintings also seem to create a sense of dimension and empty space by adding slight lines to define where walls begin and meet, creating an interesting field of view. The lack of surrounding details forces all the focus on the main figure, and the despair and cry for help in these paintings.
Most of Francis Bacon’s work as an Artist was to reflect on his life and experiences/emotions. His work has been admired by many because of how he had mastered the use of oil paint. Many of his beginning works were exercises, taking inspiration from existing paintings and distorting the forms, to help express himself. His morbid paintings are what gained him most notoriety in the artistic field. Bacon’s devotion to his art was odd, considering the common subject matter and the pain and unpredictableness of his personal life. But, because he destroyed many of his early works and paintings, we only a few examples can be recovered and are known today, which are mainly in American and European museums.
Evaluation of Cultural Significance of Edvard Munch
Modern art was significant during the mid 1860’s and lasted through the mid 1970’s. The movement was sought to see new views of things; to get a different perception of what we could make. The Artists were find new ways to see things, and stray away from the traditional style, and went to abstraction of works, creating a new perception. It was particularly popular during the space of time around the first World War.
Edvard Munch was a Norwegian painter and Printmaker from 1880’s to mid 1940’s. Bacon a troubled man; and he preoccupied himself with things like illness and human mortality. Munch had experienced many hardships, such as his mother and favorite sister dying of tuberculosis and his Father becoming abusive after their deaths. His Father, Christian Munch, was a fundamentalist Christian and had believed that their deaths was from divine intervention on their family. His family moved homes frequently due to his father’s occupation, and his weak immune system meant he was out of school often; and to entertain himself he took up watercolor painting.
Slowly, art became a steady career in his teenage years, giving him opportunity to explore new artworks to examine, like norwegian landscapes. A majority of his portraits have strange and abstract views and symbols, with somber and / or sad scenes. His famous ‘The Scream’ painting is a prime example of what his works consisted of themes like despair and worry and agony. A common theme throughout his body of work was to show the suffering we all feel while reflecting his tough past and childhood of himself and family. As for the color scheme, mainly cool colors are rather prominent, however warmer colors like red are used often as a pop of color and to attract the eye. His work is worth Millions today.
The Scream (1893) – Edvard Munch
As for the color scheme, Darker colors are rather prominent. This painting is called Horse Team painted by Edvard Munch in 1919. When looking closely at the work it can be seen that the figures are made up of quick and thick and brushstrokes, using many subtle and contrasting colors to create contour and depth in the work. The Simplified shapes in the background gives the illusion of depth and focus like a camera lens into an otherwise simplistic scene. An interesting detail is that although the shapes aren’t clearly defined it is easy to make out where all the features are located in the main horse figures and how they form facial features. You can see where his nostrils, brows, eyes, mouth and even the muscle build of the horses. It seems as though Munch created these figures by layering light and contrasting colors, creating the harsh but smooth contrast from the darkness in his works. His shadows were already present in the harsh shadows of the horses, but he used colors in areas where we would not think to see vibrant color, like the blue in the shadow underneath the horses.
Another observation to make is that no color is clean, even the white, like in the white horse, is dulled with the use of blue in the coat of the animal, and the colours of the scenery like the grass and sky are dulled to make the surroundings look, in some ways, reserved and lonely and give off the sense of a sad existence. His paintings also seem to create a sense of dimension by adding curved lines to define where hills begin and end, creating an interesting field of view of a bumpy road. The lack of surrounding details forces all the focus on the main figure, similar to a camera lens.
Similarly to Francis Bacon, Edvard Munch mainly focussed his work on reflecting his work on his life experiences and emotions. He never married, and he personally considered his work as his children, and hated to be separated from them. He lived alone and isolated himself, only being surrounded by his life’s work. His work was extremely personal to him, and his work stayed with him in his home. When he died at the age of 80, the authorities went to his home and discovered on the second floor thousands of paintings, drawings, woodcuts, prints, etc collected in his home that had accumulated in his passion for art.
Style Comparisons Of Francis Bacon And Edvard Munch
Francis Bacon / Edvard Munch
- Themes Of Despair And death.
- Dark Colors are prominent in works
- Reflection of events in their lives
- Contrast of Shadows In artwork Using vibrant color.
- Main use of black as the backgrounds.
- Subtle Horror themes in works, disfigured forms with sometimes broken anatomy.
- Hesitant use of paintings with mostly vibrant colors
- Use of gore and exposed meat; macabre visuals
- Various mixed colors in work; especially for backgrounds
- Anatomical Stability and accuracy; leading to a more realistic look in most works.
- Overlay of Different colors in backgrounds and forms of the painting.
A Study for a Head is one of the Artworks I am focussing on in this study; it was done by Francis Bacon on a canvas, using oil and sand. The painting shows a man in possible distress with his mouth wide open, broken glasses and pain in his expression. The man seems to be in some sort of bed in a dark Hallway, possibly a mental hospital. The overall emotions of this painting are fear, sorrow, and distress. In this painting, I get a sense that the man in the main frame of the painting is trapped, and can not leave. I speculate, personally, that this is a man in a mental hospital, not only due to the long hallways but due to the context of who Francis Bacon was; a gay man in the time where gay was scene as a Disease.
The distress in this painting is severe in the man’s facial expression. He’s seemingly crying out for help, but is not getting it. The man seems well dressed (the white collared shirt and pullover sweater) but dishevelled. His glasses are broken and his clothes are wrinkled, and his hair is a mess. He seems to have been in some sort of altercation, but why? And with what? We may not ever know.
Evaluation of Cultural Significance of Edvard Munch
The Scream is another one of the Artworks I am focussing on in this study; it was done by Edvard Munch on a Cardboard sheet, using oil paints, crayons and pastels. The painting shows a man in distress, screaming (as the name implies) with his mouth wide open, hands on the sides of his face and pain in his expression. The man seems to be on some sort of bridge, spanning across a river on what may be a park.
The overall emotions of this painting are fear, sorrow, and distress. In this painting, I get a sense that the man in the main frame of the painting is trapped, and can only scream. I speculate, personally, that this is an ‘insane’ man having a mental break, due to what I do not know. The people approaching in the back of the painting seem like there is nothing wrong, and that this is normal. Possibly this man is in another dimension, and nobody can see him. And he is only briefly captured in this image; the only remnant of his existence. Who knows, besides Edvard himself? The distress in this painting is severe in the man’s facial expression. He’s seemingly crying out for help, but is not getting it. Or he is possibly terrified or shocked because of something. The man seems well dressed due to his nice black long sleeve. His chilling expression is the only real detail that can be internalized in this piece.
Horse Team is one of the Artworks I am focussing on in this study; it was done by Edvard Munch on a canvas, using oil . The painting shows a man with two horses pulling plows across a field. The horses are the most defined feature; the man and background being the least defined. The overall emotions of this painting are serenity, peace, and boredom. In this painting, I get a sense that this is a reflection of the boring and trivial everyday life of a farmer. The colors are dull and muted, and there’s little to no action and movement, most of it coming from the horse’s trot to pull the plow. The colors and scene radiate a tired and almost boring energy. It’s very calming and a freeze frame in life.
Analysis of Formal Qualities in Edvard Munch
Similarities in the Works of Edvard Munch and Francis Bacon
The facial expression in the figures is very similar, expressing fear or distress, with much detail going into these expressions. They both express detail in the mouth area and void out the eyes.
Both artworks also use dark colors like black to give harsh contrast and to create the form of objects in the paintings.
Another thing they have in similar is the uncanny almost dislocated jaw that both Figures have, expressing pain.
Differences in the Works of Edvard Munch and Francis Bacon
The Scream (1893) – Edvard Munch / A Study for a Head(1952) – Francis Bacon
Edvard Uses Much more Color in the backgrounds, and uses more reds than Bacon, who uses more yellows. Edvard uses much more simplistic figures, whilst Bacon has more of a detailed look to his figures, and expresses more detail in his human figures in his more grand pieces. Bacon Uses a majority of Cool colors, reflecting the cold in his work. Munch Uses Warmer colors in the majority of this work in particular.
Similarities in the Works of Edvard Munch and Francis Bacon
A Study for a Head (1952) – Francis Bacon / Horse Team (1919) – Edvard Munch
Both use the painting style of quick, long brush strokes. These are typically used as strokes of color or to add contrast/lighting. Minimal detail everywhere except main figures, where eye and details of the face can be seen.
Simple backgrounds that don’t overtake the main figures.
Differences in the Works of Edvard Munch and Francis Bacon
A Study for a Head (1952) – Francis Bacon / Horse Team (1919) – Edvard Munch
Munch has More use of Vibrant Colors, vivid whilst Bacon uses more muted toned colors. Bacon has a more defined shading style, whilst Munch has a more blocky and stroke-defined shading, not as blended. Connections to Personal Art
Picture Links
- https://www.francis-bacon.com/artworks/paintings/figure-landscape-miss-diana-watson
- https://www.francis-bacon.com/artworks/paintings/study-head-0
- http://www.all-art.org/art_20th_century/bacon1.html
- https://www.edvardmunch.org/the-scream.jsp
- https://www.edvardmunch.org/horse-team.jsp
- https://www.theartstory.org/artist-munch-edvard.htm
- https://www.edvardmunch.org/link.jsp
- https://www.francis-bacon.com/artworks/paintings/figure-landscape-miss-diana-watson
- https://www.francis-bacon.com/artworks/paintings/study-head-0
- http://www.all-art.org/art_20th_century/bacon1.html
- https://www.edvardmunch.org/the-scream.jsp
- https://www.edvardmunch.org/horse-team.jsp
- https://www.theartstory.org/artist-munch-edvard.htm
- https://www.edvardmunch.org/link.jsp
