Lucian Michael Freud, a British painter and draftsman who lived between December 8, 1922 – July 20, 2011, specialized in figurative art, and is known as one of the most prolific 20th-century portraitists. He was the grandson of pioneer psychologist Sigmund Freud and his father was an architect. In 1933, at the height of Nazism, his family moved to Britain. His earlier career as an artist had the influence of Surrealism, but gradually his works showed signs of alienation, which were indicative of Freud’s transition to realism as an artist. His paintings were often set in urban landscapes and disturbing interiors. Freud’s works are known to be psychologically probing and unsettling in the way they examine the relationship between the model and the artist. Freud’s early paintings are often associated with German Expressionism, something the artist never acknowledged, and Surrealism. He portrayed plants, peoples and animals in strange juxtapositions. Some of the artist’s early works hint of his mature style, like “Sir Cedric Morris” (1941). Towards the end of the war, Freud developed a sparsely painted linear style with the colors that were muted. Freud is best known for his self-portrait “Man with Thistle” (1946). His series of large-eyed portraits of “Kitty Garman,” his first wife called “Girl with a Kitten,” (1947) were painted with little tiny sable brushes and come in the tradition of early Netherlandish painting.During 1950s, Freud began to focus on portraiture, mostly nudes. By the middle of the decade, he developed a more free style with the usage of large hog-hair brushes, focusing on the texture and color of flesh, for which he used thicker paint, including impasto. His “Girl with a White Dog,” exemplifies the transitional work in this process, with the sharing of many characteristics that came before and after it. The brushwork became relatively tight, mid-sized, with a change in the viewpoint. He often cleaned his brush after every stroke while painting flesh to keep the color constantly variable. The color of areas where there is no flesh is muted. He did this to make the flesh variably and highly colored. Freud also like to stand and paint, a practice he kept until he was old when he had to sit on a high chair. By 1960, Freud had developed a certain style of work he would use for the rest of his career. You can buy Lucian Freud artworks online.
↧