Francis Bacon vs. Eisenstein.
By Hannah Perren


Francis Bacon is probably one of the most grotesque painters in the 20th century. However, in one of his last interviews, Francis Bacon declared: “I have never considered my works to be disturbing”.
His Self- portrait- 1971, represents Bacon’s own understanding of himself. The distorted facial features represent the disembodied mind of Francis Bacon and how one may truly see oneself. It is often said that people believe their faces change according to their mood, if this is true the emotion Francis Bacon is feeling is clearly and boldly represented. Several of his paintings show individuals in physical and psychological pain. His self-portrait however, shows a man lost in his own self- madness and there is a look in his eyes of someone who is giving up. Considering Francis Bacon’s lover George Dyer was also an alcoholic depressive like Bacon, there was a strain on their relationship and I feel that this strain in Bacon’s life is shown in this self-portrait.
The dark background suggests the darkness of his soul and in general the painting represents the depression of the individual. Also, the whiteness of the face could be seen as being the make-up that one wears to mask ones agony.
Bacon’s Self portrait was painted in oil. Oil paint is usually layered up to create the painting ... this takes time but it adds depth and texture to the painting. The still from Battleship Potemkin 1925, by Dir Eisenstein is completely different type of art, it is a black and white still from the film Battleship Potemkin that whilst also representing human emotion shows a very ambiguous series of thought whereas Bacon’s self- portrait is very much fixed in the destruction of one’s personality and misery.
Battleship Potemkin was a Russian propaganda film portraying the mutiny which occurred in 1905 when the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin rebelled against the officers of the Tsarist regime. In popular novels such Tom Clancy’s ‘The hunt for the Red October’ Battleship Potemkin was referenced. The film itself was directed by Sergei Eisenstein who wanted to create a silent film to test his theories of montage (“the dialectical means of creating meaning by contrasting unrelated shots he tried to provoke associations in the viewer, which were induced by shocks”). Francis Bacon described images of the Battleship Potemkin a catalyst for his work, probably because like Francis Bacon, Sergei Eisenstein was an artist who created shocking imagery but through silent movies.
The facial features of the man in the still show astonishment and also the possibility of pain. The black and white contrasts add dimensions to the image thus but also emphasise the eyes and the look of shock in them by blotting out the other facial features. The light shadows the highlights the skin of the man leaving shadows, thus creating the look of a 3D image and the shadows on his skin give you an idea about the conditions they were in on the Battleship; for example the shadows under his eyes show exhaustion but the open mouth suggests disbelief. Likewise, the shadows on Francis Bacon’s Self portrait, add dimensions and the look of an 3D image.
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