When asked why he was compelled to revisit the Velázquez so often , Bacon replied that he had nothing against popes per se , but merely sought " an excuse to use these colours , and you can 't give ordinary clothes that purple colour without getting into a sort of false fauve manner . " Schmied sees Head VI as a reaction against Velázquez , and a commentary on how the papacy is " obsolete and decayed " , with a pope resistant to both modernisation and secularisation . To him , the figure seems to " resist the maltreatment of image and tries to halt the impending collapse of the established work order . He screams and grimaces , clutching at arms of his throne . " Sylvester notes that Bacon was impressed by Picasso 's figuration and handling of paint , especially in Picasso 's 1930s works ; and suggests that the white blobs around the pope 's cape may be influenced by the 1913 Woman in a Slip Seated in an Armchair .