after: ʻTHE MILKMAIDʼ, Johannes Vermeer - 1660, Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam, Netherlands. Johannes Vermeer (1632-1675) made a total of 34 known paintings. Though highly respected, he sold few works in his lifetime. However at the turn of the 20th Century the Impressionistʼs interest in light made Vermeer suddenly relevant. No wonder; the light seems the main subject in his paintings. He painted people in interiors using the camera obscura. He constructed a little dark room in his studio. The images of the objects passed through a lens onto the opposite wall in the dark room where the canvas hung. This is why we get the feeling of being a voyeur, looking with concentrated emphasis at the figures in the paintings going about their business.
see original
after: ʻSTUDY OF A PORTRAITʼ, Francis Bacon - 1957, Marlborough International Fine Art Gallery, London, England.
Francis Baconʼs paintings express feelings of isolation and anxiety. His paintings are made in a very direct way, often painted on unprepared canvas. This gave him very little room for ʻerrorsʼ. He stated that his paintings were like the slime traces a snail leaves behind. This painting is one of the 45 studies Bacon made after the Velázquezʼ portrait of the Pope Innocent X. With Vermeer you have the feeling of being sucked into the intimate silence. Conversely, Bacon gives the sensation of being blasted out of the gallery space.
about Bacons pope paintings
A special thanks to James Colman for his support, original ideas and help.