Crucifixion Representation
Crucifixion Representation
This chapter examines the theme of crucifixion or the reduction of flesh to meat in Francis Bacon's work. It reflects on his depiction of the male body and the alluring beauty of its vulnerability and collapse. It traces the relation between the violence of crucifixion and the violation of representation in his paintings to explore the inherent vulnerability of the male body on display. Meat has something to teach humankind, but as Bataille's comments emphasize, society works very hard to sequester the slaughterhouse and suppress its lessons. Bacon's painterly corpus can be understood as an attempt to make meat speak again—even in the form of a choked, strained, guttural scream.
Keywords: crucifixion, Francis Bacon, male body, beauty, vulnerability, crucifixion, representation, meat, Bataille, slaughterhouse
Chicago Scholarship Online requires a subscription or purchase to access the full text of books within the service. Public users can however freely search the site and view the abstracts and keywords for each book and chapter.
Please, subscribe or login to access full text content.
If you think you should have access to this title, please contact your librarian.
To troubleshoot, please check our FAQs, and if you can't find the answer there, please contact us.