Lucian Freud: The Self-portraits
David Dawson (Author), Joseph Leo Koerner (Author), Jasper Sharp (Author), Sebastian Smee (Author)
In 1964 Lucian Freud set his students at the Norwich College of Art an assignment: to paint naked self-portraits and to make them ‘revealing, telling, believable… really shameless’. It was advice that the artist was often to follow himself. Visceral, unflinching and often nude, Freud’s self-portraits give us an insight into the development of his style as a painter. The works provide the viewer with a constant reminder of the artist’s overwhelming presence, whether he is confronting the viewer directly or only present as a shadow or in a reflection.
Essays by leading authorities – including those who knew him well – explore Freud’s life and work, and analyse the importance of self-portraiture in his practice and the intensity that he maintained when studying his own.
Accompanies an exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts, London (27 October 2019 to 26 January 2020) and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston (22 February to 25 May 2020). Exhibition organised by the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in collaboration with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
Lucian Freud
Lucian Freud is considered one of the most important figurative painters of the 20th and 21st centuries. The son of architect Ernst Freud and grandson of Sigmund Freud, Lucian Freud’s early artistic practice was characterized by a meticulously realistic approach to painting. In the mid-1950s, however, Freud diverged from this previous approach in favor of looser brushwork and richer application of color. Freud directed his modified technique and deeply probing gaze toward the discipline of portraiture, which has come to be the core of his oeuvre. Though his style continued to evolve throughout his 70 years of painting, Freud consistently focused on translating his direct perceptions, however subjective, onto the canvas, resulting in portraits that are honest, tender, and psychologically complex. – Artsy.net
Product Details
Hardcover: 152 pages
ISBN-10: 1912520060
Dimensions: 23.37 x 2.03 x 28.19 cm
Publisher: Royal Academy of Arts; Illustrated edition (23 Oct. 2019)
Language: English
