A defining masterpiece and triumphant finale to the artist's seminal series of Pope paintings, Study of Red Pope 1962, 2nd version 1971 depicts the first and only encounter within Francis Bacon's oeuvre between his two most important subjects: the Pope raised on a dais, drawn from Diego Velázquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X,1650, and George Dyer, the love of Bacon's life and one of his most celebrated muses. Study of Red Pope will be offered at Sotheby’s Contemporary Evening Auction, 19 May 2022.
Francis Bacon's Study of Red Pope: A Balance Between Power and Love
NEW YORK | 19 MAY 2022