Compare and Contrast Essay

16.12.13

Compare and Contrast Essay: 2 paintings

                                                          The Scream of Head

 “From my rotting body, flowers will grow

  And I am in them and that is eternity”

   Edvard Munch 

[pic 1] The Scream

“Painting is the pattern of one’s own

 Nervous system being projected on canvas.”
Francis Bacon
[pic 2] Head VI

As human beings we perceive and interpret our surrounding reality in numerous ways. Moreover, scientists say we even do not see the same colors. We exist in our own worlds dictated by one’s nervous system. Living is all about senses and feelings transforming into one another. At one point we may feel contentment but all of a sudden it can be replaced by fear or anger. Despair is turned into hope and then into frustration, indifference or joy… emotions are all subjective experiences, expressions and reactions towards our changing existence. One of the wonders of this world is that some people are able to express the sensations of our nerves by creating art. Every piece of art is subjective by its nature but, what true masterpiece does, is transforming subjectiveness into a general perception of beauty, love, pain, grief - the turmoil happening in human souls. Norwegian painter Edvard Munch (1863–1944) and Irish-born British artist Francis Bacon (1909 –1992) are both known for intense psychological themes and emotionally row imagery. The explicit examples of this mental coincidence of expression are two paintings by the artists: The Scream by Edavrd Munch and Head VI by Francis Bacon.

      Edvard Munch together with Vincent Van Gogh is the main representative of the post-impressionism movement. His iconic painting The Scream (The Scream of Nature - 1893) is among the most recognized images in art history. A poignant illustration of the screaming hairless figure with insane expression standing on a bridge under an orange sky triggers viewers’ emotions. It is hard not to perceive an existential personal crisis – internal or external scream of a lonely, terrified soul that we all keep within ourselves.  It is hard not to find the similar emotional state in the painting of one more artist−Francis Bacon’s work of art Head VI (1949).  The painting is from the series of “screaming popes”. Head VI is Bacon’s one of the greatest and highly recognized masterpieces. The artist’s figurative work is renowned for its boldness and unsettling imagery. Unlike Bacon’s work many observers say that he seemed quite joyful and pleasant in his personal life. Margaret Thatcher, the prime minister of the United Kingdom once described Bacon as “that man who paints those dreadful pictures.” Yes, paintings are dreadful indeed. Similar to Edvard Munch anxiety, pain and death are the main themes of artist’s work.

In the painting Head VI a man appears inside a glass box. His face screams and his flesh is stretched. One can “hear” silent, infinite scream in a claustrophobic space where there is no place left for relief. The screaming figure is trapped into darkness and the viewer can sense the sufferings of the portrayed man. In contrast to Francis Bacon, Edvard Munch pictures the character in front of seemingly beautiful landscape with orange sunset and river running free but, the environment’s vast openness is as traumatic for the depicted figure as the glass box of Bacon.  Human frailty, weakness and imperfection are expressed with an accurate precision in the paintings by both artists. Both of them make us feel uncomfortable and uneasy because they represent the fear we want to ignore, the horror we want to forget, and the despair we want to avoid."I was walking down the road with two friends when the sun set; suddenly, the sky turned as red as blood. I stopped and leaned against the fence, feeling unspeakably tired. Tongues of fire and blood stretched over the bluish black fjord. My friends went on walking, while I lagged behind, shivering with fear. Then I heard the enormous infinite scream of nature." This is the quote from Munch’s personal diary. This is how the inspiration for the painting came. Who is this figure on the bridge? Is it Munch himself? Or is it his mentally ill sister? Is it the expression of his poor mental health or chaos going on in his head?  Or is it chaos happening in our heads too? This figure could be anyone.

Although the majority of Edvard Munch’s images are dark and unsettling in the painting "The Scream", an artist uses strong monochromatic colors and curving lines to give the composition an intense liveliness and energy. The figure itself is brownish grey and raises the feeling of anxiety and alienation, emotions so much familiar to the modern human. The painting is not stable; viewer can sense the movement – static movement of the whole landscape together with the figure. Unlike Munch, Francis Bacon applies a matted blackness and creates solid texture of pigments. The thin transparent cloak of purple is the only vivid color used in the painting. The cloak seems as if it is about to explode in a moment and the figure itself will fade away in the darkness.  Both artists were recognized as great colorists but, Bacon’s image is more photographic and filmic. His abuse of human face is as realistic as the photos of mouth diseases in medical books. Both creatures generate a cry, soundless cry expressed in the paintings; this is what makes these two paintings so much alike but, still dissimilar in their own way. It makes us understand that Art is not always about beauty – it is about life, about vision of life; sometimes horrific, sometimes breathtaking, sometimes natural, sometimes strange and extraordinary. Art is all about us, our explicit external world or hidden internal existence. Art can be scary and disturbing; it can elicit fear or anxiety. This intervention with viewer’s feelings is prerogative of true masterpieces.  

The Scream by Edvard Munch and Head VI by Francis bacon interfere with observer’s emotions with so much intensity because everything ever painted, written or created is at first felt and experienced. As Aristotle, a Greek philosopher once stated “The aim of art is to represent not the outward appearance of things, but their inward significance.”  Art is confession, atonement and regret. It unites all human beings, even those who cannot appreciate the lines and shapes painted on the canvas. Art is a scream, a cry occurring in our heads regardless of whether we are the ones who create it or we are just curious viewers looking at the masterpieces painted by renowned Artists.  

Bibliography:

http://www.artscouncilcollection.org.uk/loadArtist.do?id=5268

http://legomenon.com/meaning-of-the-scream-1893-painting-by-edvard-munch.html

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Scream

http://www.leedsartgallery.co.uk/review/listings/l0019.php

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edvard_Munch

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Bacon_(artist)