Man with a Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucian Freud

by Martin Gayford

Paperback, 2019

Status

Available

Call number

759.2

Genres

Publication

Thames & Hudson (2019), Edition: Reprint, 248 pages

Description

Lucian Freud spent seven months painting a portrait of the art critic Martin Gayford. Gayford describes the process chronologically, from the day he arrived for the first sitting through to his meeting with the couple who bought the finished painting. As Freud creates his portrait, so Gayford produces his own portrait of the artist.

User reviews

LibraryThing member Smiler69

Lucian Freud (8 December 1922 – 20 July 2011) was considered one of the greatest living artists until his death last year. A friend of Picasso, Giacometti and most famously, Francis Bacon, he was also the grandson of that other Freud. When figure painting went out of style in favour of

abstraction in the 50s and 60s, he continued working from the model. According to the wikipedia entry, "his works are noted for their psychological penetration, and for their often discomforting examination of the relationship between artist and model." Part of the discomfort for the model would have been the fact that Freud demanded that his model be available to him on a regular basis for indeterminate periods of time, which usually meant many months, with multiple sittings every week, working at a famously incredibly slow pace, some paintings took over a year to complete, which for the models meant hundreds of hours posing under the painter's scrutiny. Martin Gayford, an art critic who's also written a book about Van Gogh, knew Freud and suggested posing for a portrait while writing about the experience for a book project, an idea which the painter apparently heartily encouraged as one of the project's most fervent champions. This is surprising when one knows that Freud shied away from photographers and journalists his whole life, preferring to retain his privacy and let others interpret his work as they wished. Gayford obviously took copious notes throughout his sittings, and quickly establishes that Freud, far from demanding that his models sit still for hours on end, on the contrary likes to engage his models in lively conversation and see the various expressions which animate each individual. Though the book is presented in the form of a journal of sorts, with each entry prefaced by a date, what emerges through all the fascinating conversations during nine months of sittings, restaurant meals and taxi rides, is the portrait of a brilliant mind of great intellect with fascinating views and amazing life experiences. This book, published by Thames & Hudson, who mostly produce high quality art books, is illustrated throughout with paintings from different periods of Freud's long and very successful career. A must for art lovers of every kind and certainly for Lucian Freud fans.

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LibraryThing member michaelbartley

I loved this book, when I started reading it, I couldn't put it down! Learned a lot about art, LF, and Bacon. An inside look at the art world Excellent book

LibraryThing member prima1

this is one of the best books i read this year so far. very interesting semibiography as the author sits for a portrait. the hard cover volume is fantastic with excellent illustrations.

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