As you peruse a museum, it’s impossible to gloss over Francis Bacon’s haunting paintings. They look like something straight out of a horror movie–screaming out at you in terror, making it hard to look, but even harder to avert your eyes. Born in Dublin in 1909, Bacon self-proclaimed that he was a “late starter” in the art world, focusing on interior design in his earlier years.

From his initial paintings, Bacon demonstrated a fascination with the unsettling and expressed his desire to depict the “brutality of fact”. His artistic career spanned over six decades and his paintings have sold for staggering prices at auction (most recently, at virtual auctions).

Bacon’s signature style makes him easily identifiable. There’s something undeniably visceral about his works from his colors to composition to subject matter. His repertoire is stamped by series centered around a certain thematic element including The Crucifixion, Popes, and studies of heads like the one I want to examine today.

Study for a Head is a grotesque portrait of a monstrous figure. Anybody else think it closely resembles Frankenstein’s monster? The pale green complexion makes the figure appear sickly. The linear perspective extends into the background, forming a frame around the head that makes it pop even more. The golden yellow banister rail looks as though it’s piercing the figure’s head (like the screws on Frankenstein’s monster). This wide-mouthed silent scream is a motif across many of his paintings.

As a lover of horror–whether it’s graphic novels, films, or paintings–I am mesmerized by Francis Bacon’s art. Though it’s nearly impossible to separate the subject matter from the style, I think Bacon’s paint application and brushwork is stunning and really lends to the horror vibe. The streaks of color bleed into one another and he doesn’t seem to avoid imperfection.

If you want to get to know Francis Bacon on a more personal level, the Estate of Francis Bacon produced a series of interviews called Francis Bacon: First Impressions centering the question: What were your first impressions upon meeting Francis?