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Head II

Head II is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Head II rather than just read about it. In short: Head II is an oil and tempera on hardboard painting by the Irish-born British figurative artist Francis Bacon, from 1948. It the second in a series of six heads, painted from the winter of 1948 in preparation for a November 1949 exhibition at the Hanover Gallery, London.

Head II — main illustration
Head II — illustration

Key takeaways

  • Head II belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
  • Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
  • Connect Head II to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
  • Reproduce the core statement of Head II from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Head II is an oil and tempera on hardboard painting by the Irish-born British figurative artist Francis Bacon, from 1948. It the second in a series of six heads, painted from the winter of 1948 in preparation for a November 1949 exhibition at the Hanover Gallery, London.

Description The figure seems half human, half animal, and has disintegrated to an extent that, like the preceding Head I of the series, the entire upper head has disappeared, leaving only mouth and jaw. The figure is set in a shallow pictorial space, and is positioned behind curtains that borrow from Titian's 1558 Portrait of Cardinal Filippo Archinto. The curtains are fastened at one point by a safety pin. John Russell sees the curtains as enclosing the figure, as if the walls of a prison or execution dock. Remarking on their dreary and drab appearance, he further speculates that they seem "stiffened by fifty years' crassness of a tenth-rate lodging-house; or they could be sliding shutters that have been pulled apart to admit a new victim." The painting's overall grisaille appearance gives the impression of x-ray photographs, and K.C. Clark's Positioning may have inspired the look in Radiography, a book Bacon often acknowledged as a key source for his work. The painting contains a small arrow just below the figure's mouth; the first appearance of a motif the artist was to continue using for the rest of his career.

See also List of paintings by Francis Bacon

Notes

Sources

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Head II

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Head II claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Head II before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Head II ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Head II

In research
Head II appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry
Engineering practice reuses Head II in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom
Head II is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1949 paintings, Heads in the arts, Oil paintings on canvas, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life
Look for Head II outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Head II in 20 minutes

  1. Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
  2. Close the page and write down what Head II means in your own words.
  3. Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
  4. Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
  5. Explain Head II out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Head II in simple terms?

Head II is an oil and tempera on hardboard painting by the Irish-born British figurative artist Francis Bacon, from 1948. It the second in a series of six heads, painted from the winter of 1948 in preparation for a November 1949 exhibition at the Hanover Gallery, London.

Why does Head II matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Head II?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Head II.

Tags

  • 1949 paintings
  • Heads in the arts
  • Oil paintings on canvas
  • Paintings by Francis Bacon

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