'Reflection', By Lucien freud ,1985 56x51 cm ; oil on canvas
Camera and the photographic process came into vogue early in the nineteenth century and with it came the belief that the art of portrait will die soon. It of course did not happen. since artists used portrait as a way of creative expression. Not as a way to represent likeness.
Lucien freud (Yes, he is related to Sigmund !) a foremost exponent of the portrait said about a portrait artist ,"And, since the model he faithfully copies is not going to be hung up next to the picture, since the picture is going to be there on its own, it is of no interest whether it is an accurate copy of the model." and also
"I paint people, not because of what they are like, not exactly in spite of what they are like, but how they happen to be."
Even a cursory examination of his body of work will prove how successful he was in doing exactly that. His success in capturing the very essence of his models, depicting the core of their personality on a canvas is without compare. He translated a model; his feelings and their circumstances into paint. As he said,"The aura given out by a person or object is as much a part of them as their flesh."
As is the wont of most artists ,his personal life was quite eventful . It is his figurative work that he persisted with despite opposition of critics and trends ; that makes him a leading artist of our time and among of the greats ever. His work became hugely popular among public during his own life time and that is literally a silver lining . In May 2008, his 1995 picture Benefits Supervisor Sleeping was sold at Christie's in New York for $33.6 million, a record for a work by a living artist.
Well the artist last week passed on to the great beyond . In the summer of 2002 during a retrospective his work considered to be among ten most popular shows ever; he jokingly told a friend that he would also like to go and see if all the things he has read about his work are actually true!
Actually they are and it was a life well spent.
As is the wont of most artists ,his personal life was quite eventful . It is his figurative work that he persisted with despite opposition of critics and trends ; that makes him a leading artist of our time and among of the greats ever. His work became hugely popular among public during his own life time and that is literally a silver lining . In May 2008, his 1995 picture Benefits Supervisor Sleeping was sold at Christie's in New York for $33.6 million, a record for a work by a living artist.
Well the artist last week passed on to the great beyond . In the summer of 2002 during a retrospective his work considered to be among ten most popular shows ever; he jokingly told a friend that he would also like to go and see if all the things he has read about his work are actually true!
Actually they are and it was a life well spent.
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