Biography
Freud is the grandson of the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. In 1933, the year the National Socialists came to power, he emigrated to England with his family. Freud attended the Central School of Art and Goldsmith's College in London and the East Anglian School of Painting and Drawing in Dedham from 1938 to 1943. He gained international fame through his portraits and nude paintings, which he created in a consistently realistic style from 1952 onwards. In his early work the artist was based on surrealism and neo-romanticism. But he quickly found his own image character, which was characterized by a realistic wealth of detail. The work entitled "Interior in Paddington" was created in 1951 and reveals its realism in the dark mood of the picture. Today the work hangs in the Walker Gallery in Liverpool. Freud's surreal images show mysterious connections between plants and people. In his nude paintings, the artist depicted naked, spongy bodies, which he often decorated with offensive details.
Another feature of these bodies are the partially visible veins that run through them. His first wife, Kathleen Garman Epstein, often modeled for him. He executed these subjects with unusual sensitivity. Later, Freud concentrated on a more expressive style of painting with a more pronounced contrast in color. In this way he created, among other things, a series of portraits of his mother. In 1939 Lucian Freud became a British citizen. In 1944 his first exhibition took place at the Lefevre Gallery. In 1948 he married Kathleen Garman Epstein. After his divorce, he married Caroline Blackwood. In 1954 he took part in the Venice Biennale. In 1982 a monograph on Lucian Freud was published, written by Lawrence Gowing. In 1982 Freud began using the technique of etching. The result is an extensive work that has an exciting interaction with his paintings. The artist's etchings and paintings stand side by side on an equal footing in his entire oeuvre. In 1983 the artist was made an honorary knight. His pictures have been present at numerous exhibitions around the world. In his etching work the artist implements all the themes that also occupied him in painting. This mainly results in portraits and nudes, but also landscapes.
Some of the etchings are realized in large format and impress with their complex line work. The subjects are not depictions of ideality, but rather show physical naturalness and unvarnished personality. Freud used a variety of graphic means and applied a sophisticated printing technique to bring out nuances and sensitivity. In 2002, some of his works were shown at Art Chicago. His work titles include "Girl with a White Shirt" (1951 - 1952), "John Minton" (1952), "Hotel Bedroom" (1954), "Naked Girl Sleeping II" (1968), "Factory in North London" ( 1981 - 1983), "Reflection" (1985), "Bella" (1987). In May 2002 his portrait of the British Queen Elizabeth II was exhibited. In the same month, on May 12, 2002, Lucian Freud received the "Jerg Ratgeb Prize", which is awarded every three years by the HAP Grieshaber Foundation, at the Spendhaus Reutlingen Municipal Art Museum. In June 2002, an exhibition of more than 140 of the artist's paintings, etchings and drawings opened in London. After the Museum of Modern Art, New York (2008), the Center Pompidou in Paris showed an internationally acclaimed solo exhibition in 2010.
Lucian Freud died on July 20, 2011 in London.
