Analysing and Comparing Two Images
Lisa Honeywood
Matt Moseley
Word Count: 592
In this essay I will be analysing and discussing in detail two images. I will be describing the two individually, relating to their context as well as their formal element and expressing my own opinion on their meaning.
The first piece of artwork is Francis Bacon’s “Self Portrait” (Appendix 1), created in 1971. I think his self portraits created in this period of time refer to the suicide of his lover George Dyer in 1971, where his work seems to have a theme of death and depression. The painting is obviously a portrait of him which reflects great emotion and this is expressed in his brushstrokes. These are thick, textured and intense which seem to be symbolic and reflect the emotion in the image of horror and suffering. They also make the image very abstract. In his work he uses dull and dark colours. This creates an eerie atmosphere and makes the audience pay greater attention to the depth of the meaning, rather than the element of the colour. The dark background brings the image forward and makes it the centre of attention. It also intensifies the mood of the whole picture. The face is contorted, twisted, and half shadowed which was seen as shocking and grotesque by many people. It gives a sense of sadness and maybe how Bacon sees himself or how he was feeling in this period of time. The facial features are enlarged, especially the eyes which are a main focal point. They are the first thing you see and they seem to show sadness .You can see that he has a glazed look and seems to be looking into the distance which gives the sense that something is on his mind.
Bacon was greatly influenced by Eisenstein's images in his film “Battleship Potemkin”. He was particularly interested in the Odessa Steps shot of the schoolmistress's broken glasses and open-mouthed scream. You can see the open mouth image first in his Abstraction from the Human Form, in Fragment of a Crucifixion, and other works including his famous Head series. You can clearly see his influence in his self portraits where he continuously referred back to the film for inspiration.
The second piece is a still from “Battleship Potemkin”, created by Eisenstein (Appendix 2) in 1925. It relates to the mutiny that occurred in 1905 during the Tsarist regime when the crew of the Russian battleship Potemkin rebelled against their officers. This image is a close up of a man’s face, which is similar to Bacon’s “Self Portrait”. It is shocking and refers to the suffering and pain of the massacre in the film, just in one snapshot of the face. The use of no colour in the film is also similar to “Self Portrait”. Using less colour brings out the meaning of the picture. Again, you see the big facial features, particularly the eyes, which are widened. This gives the sense of horror and shock, which is also seen in Francis Bacon’s work. The man’s hair in the image seems wild and untamed, reflecting the chaotic feel of the whole film. There is also a darkened background and a shadowed face which brings him to the centre of attention. You can see the overall theme of shock and horror in this image which has influenced Bacon’s “Self Portrait”.
In conclusion, both works of art have similar aspects showing the same emotion of horror and sadness, and you can see the definite inspiration that Bacon has used from Eisenstein’s film to influence his work.
