Freud's probing oils get fresh consideration in this monograph and Dawson provides insights and stories about Freud working on these portraits, giving an intriguing behind-the-scenes look at the life of a contemporary master of representational art. Nakedness was a way for Freud to get a more truthful portrait. The naked body is a subject that has special significance in Freud's oeuvre. Dawson became Lucian Freuds assistant just as Freud was painting the vast hairless bulk of performance artist Leigh Bowery, and has helped as he But each afternoon, after his mornings. Despite their grand scale, Freud's subjects are still depicted with a sense of intimacy, penetrating honesty, and psychological depth. Inspired by Bowery's impressive physique, Freud began working on a larger scale, which emphasized the physical presence of his subjects. His figurative paintings offer an unabashed view of his subjects, which included friends, family members and lovers, and are visceral and revealing while intuitively respectful.

The book begins with works from 1990, when Freud began painting the performance artist Leigh Bowery: these large-scale portraits of Bowery ushered in a new sense of monumentality in the artist's oeuvre. Lucian Freud was one of the most influential portrait artists of the 20th century.

Intimate portraits from one of the most innovative figurative artists of the twentieth century and the master of painted flesh.Ĭurated by the artist's longtime studio assistant and friend, David Dawson, this important volume features twenty major and rarely seen paintings by Lucian Freud (1922-2011).

Lucian Freud by David Dawson