The Screaming Pope

Expandable Day 2 Screaming Pope

2008-10-16T11:51:00.001-07:00

This one should open up when you double-click:

The End of Day 2

2008-10-15T11:54:00.000-07:00

This is what "The Screaming Pope" looks like at the end of Day 2 of annotations.

It won't blow up very much when you double-click due to a technical problem. I'm working on it. In the meantime, here is a quick blurb on Dealbreaker...

Two annotations I like...

2008-10-13T16:47:00.000-07:00

On one side of his head: "Dick Cheney said "We control reality." Is this what he was talking about?"

On the other: "The Screaming Dope?"

Coming in third, at least on this strip of detail: "Het paard van troje," which, as everybody knows, is Dutch for Trojan Horse. When I asked the guy what he meant, he said, roughly, "A year ago if you asked everyone what the biggest threat was to the world as we know it, it would be terrorism. Instead it was a tiny thing that we invited into the gates--mortgage back securities."

Hmmm.

End of Day 1

2008-10-13T16:40:00.001-07:00

Here is where we stand at the end of Day 1.

I'm thinking about 125 annotations and "The Screaming Pope" is literally awash in a sea of red ink.

Tomorrow I will be in the plaza behind 85 Broad Street with a crew from the Today Show.

The Screaming Pope

2008-10-13T06:26:00.000-07:00

"The Screaming Pope" -- 4' x '5', acrylic on canvas with red ink.

$25,000 +

This painting is not available on eBay. Please contact me at gvraymond@gmail.com to make a bid.

A little bit about me

2008-10-13T06:19:00.000-07:00

You may be seen this painting in the news:

Called "The Annotated Fuld," it has been widely covered by the media. I've painted a number of annotated paintings, including Rupert Murdoch, Eliot Spitzer, John McCain, Barack Obama, Jimmy Cayne and some others. If you want to see other annotated paintings you can visit yearofmagicalpainting.blogspot.com or google "Geoffrey Raymond+Artist."

Why is it called "The Screaming Pope?"

2008-10-12T17:41:00.000-07:00

Fair question. After all, all my previous annotated works have been called "The Annotated This" or "The Annotated That."

Here's the gist of the thing: In sixteen-something, Diego Velazquez painted this portrait of Pope Innocent X.

A study in innocence if ever one existed.

Then in 1953 (the year of my birth), Irish-born painter Francis Bacon, fascinated with the Velazquez image, painted this:

Actually titled "Study after Velazquez's Portrait of Pope Innocent X, 1953," it's commonly referred to as "The Screaming Pope." Bacon would go on to paint forty or so images inspired by the Pope but this is the coolest (and likely most famous) one.

Fast forwarding to this summer in the Catskills and the show I had in Andes, NY. Merna Popper, my upstate dealer, would say to people that in the old days, portraitists used to either paint kings or popes and that I, by painting presidents and financiers, had simply updated the equation.

Me? I knew I had to paint Paulson as part of this year's annotated series. And I've always felt great admiration for Bacon. So when I saw an image of Henry Paulson with his mouth wide open, I decided to use that as the source photo and call the painting "The Screaming Pope"-- in part because the name speaks to the modern context of the Paulson's position in the financial crisis, and in part as homage to Bacon.

So that's where the name came from.

The Screaming Pope

2008-10-12T17:29:00.000-07:00

"The Screaming Pope" is the latest in my series of annotated paintings--a depiction of Treasury Secretary Henry M. Paulson. The image you see here is the finished painting, awaiting only the annotations of the Wall Street community.

"The Screaming Pope" is for sale. Please email me at gvraymond@gmail.com with an offer of $25,000 or more.