Lucian Freud

Anders Kold

Gereon Sievernich

Sebastian Smee

Unflinching truth British artist Lucian Freud (1922-2011) was widely considered the most important figurative painter of his generation. Master portraitist and specialist in nudes, Freud used impasto to create depth and intensity while restraining his color palette to mostly muted hues. His portraits may be physically unflattering to their subjects, but they are honest, frank, and unapologetic. "I paint people," Freud said, "not because of what they are like, not exactly in spite of what they are like, but how they happen to be." About the Series: Each book in TASCHEN's Basic Art series features: a detailed chronological summary of the life and oeuvre of the artist, covering his or her cultural and historical importance a concise biography approximately 100 illustrations with explanatory captions

Beholding the Animal

Lucian Freud is not only the most celebrated artist working in England, but one of the most private. He has frequently stated his reluctance to be photographed and he has almost never agreed to be interviewed.Following the publication of the last ten years of his work by Jonathan Cape in the autumn of 2005, the painter has agreed to talk to Sebastian Smee, a writer on art whom he greatly respects, in a series of conversations rather than formal interviews. He wants to talk about painting itself, the demands of his own work and the painters he admires. Two photographers have had access to Freud's studio. The late Bruce Bernard was a friend for many years and the subject of two of Freud's paintings. Bernard was an authority on photography, a great picture editor, and also a very fine photographer. He made a number of studies of Freud at work. Over the last five years in particular, Freud's assistant, the painter David Dawson, has been photographing the artist constantly.

Freud at Work

Speaking recently about his early years as an artist Lucian Freud claimed, 'I would have thought I did 200 drawings to every painting in those early days. I very much prided myself on my drawing.' Drawing is fundamental to Freud's development as an artist and to how he sees in a way that that it was not, for example, at the foundation of the work of Francis Bacon. Drawing became an important part of Freud's life from the start and a famous sketchbook,The Freud-Schuster Book, dating back to January 1940 when Freud was in Snowdonia with Stephen Spender, has survived. So too do sketches from Freud's life as a merchant seaman on a cargo vessel in the Atlantic in 1941. His then surreal style lent itself to illustrations and his fascination with animals, birds and fish was revealed in the famous line drawings he produced for Nicholas Moore's book of poems,TheGlass Tower(1944). On Papercharts the works on paper, including the etchings, over his entire career. It includes the formative early work, the sketches in preparation for painting his masterpiece,Large Interior W11 (after Watteau)(1983), the sketches of the completed painting in the studio and the astonishing later studies of his mother. The book ends with the etchings of recent years. The works on paper are an extraordinary achievement, providing even deeper insights into the work of the greatest figurative artist of our time. Introduction by Sebastian Smee Essay by Richard Calvocoressi

On Paper

Michael Auping

Sarah Howgate

John Richardson

Surveys seven decades of the noted British artist's portraits; chronicles his life and artistic development; and offers interviews that discuss the challenge of making self-portraits and paintings, often nude, of family and friends.

Lucian Freud Portraits

Robert Hughes

Lucian Freud, petit-fils du fondateur de la psychanalyse, est considéré avec Francis Bacon et David Hockney comme l’un des plus grands peintres non seulement britanniques, mais mondiaux. Incisive, impitoyable, touchant parfois au cruel, sa peinture dégage pourtant une humanité rare. S’y conjuguent le goût « nordique » du rendu psychologique, du "fouaillement" des chairs, et une sensibilité extrême aux valeurs, aux richesses, aux sensualités de la matière picturale, aux nuances les plus subtiles de la couleur – souvent contenue dans une gamme sévère d’ocres et de gris rose. Qualifié par un critique d’« Ingres de l’existentialisme », Lucian Freud échappe résolument au naturalisme doctrinal, à la plate figuration pour atteindre une intensité rare, qui donne à la plupart de ses portraits un aspect fascinant, presque hallucinatoire. Cet ouvrage superbement illustré rassemble, en une centaine de reproductions en couleurs, les oeuvres de Lucian Freud les plus marquantes. Le lecteur se trouve à même d’apprécier l’un des peintres majeurs de notre époque, et d’entrer dans cette galerie de corps noueux, de personnages aux regards fixes et insistants, de modelés puissants, de pâtes épaisses et vibrantes dont la texture même semble épouser celle de la chair.

William Feaver

Richly illustrated with photographs from the artist's personal archives, this book contains a detailed analysis of Lucian Freud's work. A full chronology and bibliography are also included.

A fascinating glimpse inside the world of one of the worl'd most celebrated artists combines 120 compelling photographs taken in the studio of Lucian Freud with an in-depth interview to reveal the stages in the artist's creation process and his intense interaction with his subjects.

Cécile Debray

Une lecture de l'oeuvre de Lucian Freud, petit-fils du psychanalyste, qui inclut son rapport au nu et au portrait ainsi que celui, plus inattendu, aux natures mortes et aux paysages.

l'atelier

National Portrait Gallery (Great Britain)

Lucian Freud was one of the world's greatest realist painters. This new authoritative survey of his portraits and figure paintings explores his work across seven decades, from the early 1940s to his death in 2011.

Lucian Freud

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