The object in context
Bacon’s Pope with Owls was one of the five works brought into dialogue in the Royal Museums’ 2016 exhibition. That exhibition is historical; its gallery plan is not a current display guarantee.
Try this when you look
Read the painted space before assigning an emotion to the figure. Locate the lines around the seated body and compare the space they imply with the shape of the canvas. What seems confined, and what seems open?
Before you visit
Ask the museum about current display or consult the current collection presentation. A work being in a museum’s collection and being visible during your visit are different facts.
- Whole image — Describe the strongest visible contrast.
- Locate a detail — Follow a colour, gesture or line.
- Compare — Test your observation on a second work.
- Question — Ask what evidence could change your reading.