Untitled

Untitled (Pope), created circa 1954 by Irish-born, English artist Francis Bacon, is a striking oil-on-canvas panel that revisits the iconic Portrait of Innocent X by Velázquez. Part of Bacon’s series depicting popes, the work exemplifies his intense engagement with Expressionism, distorting and transforming the figure into a haunting, visceral image. Bacon’s self-critical nature led him to destroy many paintings, making this piece’s rediscovery in 2016 particularly significant. While rooted in a genre painting tradition, the work also embodies an exploration of psychological depth, characteristic of Bacon’s approach to portraiture.