LucianFreudPortraits

PortraitswerecentraltotheworkofLucianFreud(1922-2011).Workingonlyfromlife,theartistclaimed,"Icouldneverputanythingintoapicturethatwasn'tactuallythereinfrontofme."ThismajorretrospectivecataloguesurveysFreud'sportraitsacrossthesevendecadesofhiscareer.Featuringthefinestportraitsfrompublicandprivatecollectionsaroundtheworld,thebookexploresthestylisticdevelopmentandremarkabletechnicalvirtuosityofanartistregardedasoneofthemostinnovativefigurativepaintersthemediumhasknown.Freud'schosensubjectswereoftenhisintimates-familymembers,friends,andartisticcolleaguessuchasFrankAuerbach,FrancisBacon,LeighBowery,andDavidHockney.?Freudwas?privatemanwhorarelygaveinterviews,andhisthoughtsonthecomplexrelationshipbetweenartistandsitterandthechallengesofpaintingnudesandself-portraitsarepublishedhereforthefirsttime,documentedinaseriesofinterviewswithMichaelAuping,conductedbetweenMay2009andJanuary2011.Anillustratedchronologyoftheartist'slifeprovidesfascinatinginsightsintoFreud'sbackgroundasagrandsonofSigmundFreud,andhisunorthodoxartisticeducation.Anessentialbookforeverypersonalartlibrary,thislavishlyillustratedvolumecelebratestheworkandcareerofanartistwhooverturnedtraditionalportraitureandofferedanewapproachtofigurativeart.