Bacon's Retrospective at the Met right now easily takes the cake for some of the most powerful paintings I've ever seen in person. Ranging from the haunting to the comical (but mostly the haunting), his work presents the individual trapped in nameless spaces, with prospects looking grim.The most jarring quality of the show was his use of outrageously bright color. No photographic depictions of his work come close to showing how bold and daring they are. The juxtaposition of neon oranges and creamy, saturated blues with the startling imagery of terrifying deformed figures is a combination difficult to succeed at. The influence of Picasso on his work is blatant, and it was marvelous to see the frightening direction he went with it.
