Homage to van Gogh is a true expression of what Bacon called his "riotous despair" - a document on the theme of magnificent, intensive vanity. Without the help of a model but instead relying on photographs he has recreated a resemblance, only to sabotage it by the "pointless" positioning of - for instance - eyes and ears. He casts paint into the picture and rubs in these intentional defects so as to give the painting a stronger feeling of immediacy and the power to "etch the nervous system of the viewer". "I'm consumed by the question, how close a likeness can I achieve through the most irrational means?"
-source unknown
