ART416: Critical Studies – Critique Essay

Rebecca House – Year 1

University of Plymouth
Over the course of my academic studies with fine art, I have discovered many intriguing
artists. Lucian Freud has always stood out to me due to the use of colour, perception and
composition in his work. I wanted to research deeper into his life and career as a successful
portrait artist and explore the question, what contributed towards Freuds success as an
artist? Lucian Freud was a British painter born in Berlin, Germany originally in 1922,
although Freud and his family emigrated voluntarily to London, England in 1933 to escape
the rise of Nazism.i His early painting career was very influenced by surrealism but by the
1950’s his art style shifted towards
realism which can be seen throughout
his art. This can be seen in these
pieces, the more realistic detail within
‘Boy Smoking’iiiii is much greater than
‘Man with a thistle’ivv. This is an
interesting observation for me as there
is only four years between each piece,
showing his shift in art styles in a short
number of years. This is also showing
Man with a Thistle (Self- Boy Smoking, 1950, Lucian Freud
that it was a gradual change that
Portrait), 1946, Lucian Freud happened over some years of his
career.

When considering the work of Lucian Freud, you must

first take note of the piece ‘Girl in a Striped Nightshirt’ vi.
Such a creation is one of my favourites for multiple
reasons such as the cold toned colour palette Freud has
decided to use, he has really emphasised the blue tones
within the whole piece, particularly within her skin tone
and shirt. This helps to connote a sense of sadness and
passiveness within the subject. Simultaneously the
subject also seemingly illustrates a death-like aura due to
the successful use of cold tones utilized by Freud.
Another reason I enjoy this piece is the mark making he
has incorporated, specifically the rough brushstrokes
within the hair and the shirt. Upon researching this piece,
my exploration led me to discover that the sitter for this Girl in a Striped Nightshirt, 1983-5,
piece is artist Celia Paul vii. A person whom became Freuds Lucian Freud
lover in 1984 and also became the mother to his child. Through the close-up painting of
Paul’s head and shoulders – rather than a whole-body composition- we can infer that this
intimacy held between the two slowly became an infatuation on Freud’s part. When first
coming across such a cold felt painting initially, I was struck with the correlation to Freud
himself and his escape from the rise of Nazism. Such a concept came across my mind due to
the emphasis on the striped nightshirt. Not only is it one of the main composition points
within the piece but also this centre-point is clearly depicted within the title ‘Striped
Nightshirt’, which only encourages you to gravitate your view to the nightshirt. Taking into
consideration the points previously made, I believe this was a crucial turning point within
Freud’s career due to the establishment of an emotional connection between the painting
and its maker.

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Following the analysis of Freud’s ‘A Girl in a Striped Nightshirt’ viii, we must next delve into
another one of his works ‘Girl with a kitten’. In my opinion, this is my least favourite piece
due to the certain aspects. That being the lack of life
depicted within the portrait due to the chosen colour palette
which expels a flat aura resulting in a lack of dimension.
Much like ‘A Girl in a Striped Nightshirt’, there is a sense of
eeriness that is connected to this painting. Such a cold
depiction can be noticed by the empty expression carved
upon the sitter’s face, as well as the unusual composition
that this piece has.
When first taking note of the image one must take into
consideration the brutal actions the character is doing… an
intense vice-like grip upon a cat’s neck. On further analysis
one can clearly see the expression placed upon her face; it’s
as though there isn’t a speck of remorse for such an
Girl with a Kitten, 1947, Lucian Freud
aggressive action. When delving into the contextual
background of such a piece I came across the knowledge
that the sitter in this piece is Freud first wife, Kathleen Garman ix. Although divorced after
only four years of marriage, Garman was used as a sitter for Freuds paintings periodically.
Garman was often referred to as ‘Kitty’. Such a cognomen allows for a certain understanding
between the sitter, composition and title of the piece. On the first initial inspection of the
painting, I inferred that the sitter was slowly losing grip upon reality. The cat symbolising the
given nickname ‘kitty’ as she is clawing to maintain her identity; the clenched hand having
implications that this woman has lost her identity (or maybe sanity) at some point within
her life. Such an image, within my opinion, has far too great a value within Freud’s career to
be of no import. Perhaps it in-fact was a key painting influenced by essential moments
within his life, personal or work wise. However, one must next explore the techniques used
by Freud and discover whether it relates to the connotation of the painting.

When delving into the technical uses Freud utilizes, I

discovered early in his career his techniques varied
exponentiallyx. Whereas now he is notorious for applying
such techniques as: painting thickly with a brush or
palette knife. He often worked with extremely fine-haired
brushes and painted on smooth surfaces. This resulted in
making small and precise strokes. An example of where
this can be seen is in Freuds piece, ‘Still Life with Green
Lemon’xixii. His better-known gestural style came later in
his career this was when he changed to thick course
brushes which were often made from hogs’ hair. Freud
would always mix his paints on a hand-held palette. He
would go through the same chronological process when
creating his pieces. After he intensely observes his sitter,
he prepares to mix his colours place one or two initial
brush marks on his piece and finally scrape his newly
mixed colour then places it on his now famous painting
Still Life with Green Lemon, 1947, Lucian
Freud
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studio wall. This renowned wall of his can be seen in the background of his piece ‘Self-
portrait, Reflection’xiii. Ultimately, repeating this very
slow process of applying his paint is how he built up his
textured pieces. According to Freuds former assistant
and director of the Lucian Freud Archive David Dawson,
“Freud liked every colour you can find in the Nature
British bird – there’s these very soft browns and greys
and greens. He never liked primary colours and would
never use a colour straight from a tube. He had to mix
every single colour, so his palette was very gentle and
soft”. Freud often used mirrors when creating his self-
portraits. The mirrors enabled Freud to depict an
accurate representation of himself at unusual angles xiv.
Whilst Freud was still alive, author William Feaver
managed to conduct hours of interviews from Freud.
This shows that Freud had significant trust in Feaver as
he stated he didn’t ever want a biography published xv.
Eight years after his death, “The Lives of Lucian Freud’
was realised. The Royal Academy dedicated an exhibition completely to his self-portraits.
Both the biography and the exhibition give a massive insight to how Freud was an artist as a
whole. He is described as reckless, selfish and even a dangerous artist. After learning more
about Freud’s specific processes and techniques that go into creating his art one can depict
his presence within the artistic world.

Freud has created some of the most recognisable artistic

portrayals in the art world. Out of Freuds many artworks
‘Hotel Bedroom’xvi is considered one of the most important
pieces he has produced in his career. It is one of Freuds
best known pieces of his second wife Lady Caroline
Blackwood in a hotel bedroom in Paris. This piece
including others at the time, were considered shocking
and unpleasant. Caroline Blackwood herself wrote that
she “was dismayed, and others were mystified as to why
he needed to paint a girl, who at that point still looked
childish, as so distressingly old”xvii. This makes an
interesting point as Blackwood was only twenty-two years
of age when she married Freudxviii. It raises the question,
why has Freud depicted Blackwood in such a mature
manner? My first impression when I saw this piece was
the severe sense of tension between Freud and
Blackwood. You can observe this through the composition Hotel Bedroom, 1954, Lucian Freud
where Freud is in the background staring with a piercing
gaze at Blackwood, who is positioned in the foreground, making her one of the main focal
points in the piece. This is also supported by the range of lighting in the painting. Freud has
positioned himself in front of the window, making himself backlit resulting in his figure
appearing dark and gloomy. Whereas Blackwood is presented in bright lighting, which could
symbolise, at the time she was the light of his life. This could also show the clear problems

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that their relationship had as this piece was painted not long before Blackwood had left
Freud.
After thinking about what the most important piece Freud is created in his art career, it
instigated my progression of thought towards the interrogative ‘how did Freuds childhood
affect his artwork?’ A child sketch made by
Freud was able to go on display at the
National Portrait Gallery. The innocent
piece was created by Freud during his early
childhood in 1930’s Berlin, which
contributes towards ‘Lucian Freud Unseen’
at the Gallery. The exhibition has been
created from a rare archive of sketchbooks,
drawings and letters produced by Freud
when he was a boy. The childhood sketches
reflect “early passions and interests”, such
Childhood Sketch, 1930's, Lucian Freud
as birds and tress which were both
reoccurring factors in his work today. Sarah Howgate, senior curator at the London gallery
states that this exhibition “will help us further understand Freud” and the “… studio practice
of an artist whose focus and preoccupation was the portrait” xix. Once moving to London
with his family, Freud and his two
brothers attended boarding school at
Dartington Hall in Devon. His letters xx to
his parents gave an insight into the artist
as a young child adapting to life in a new
country. In these letters Freud describes
playing cricket in the rain and building
model railwaysxxi. From gathering this
research, it is clear to see that Freuds
childhood did in fact have an impact on
how he was as a mature artist.

Childhood Letters, n.d, Lucian Freud

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Bibliography

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i
Tate. n.d. Lucian Freud. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artists/lucian-freud-1120.
ii
Freud, L., 1951. Boy Smoking. [Oil on copper].
iii
Tate. n.d. ‘Boy Smoking’, Lucian Freud, 1950–1 | Tate. [online] Available at:
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/freud-boy-smoking-t12618.
iv
Freud, L., 1946. Man With A Thistle. [Oil on canvas].
v
Tate. n.d. ‘Man With A Thistle (Self-Portrait)’, Lucian Freud, 1946 | Tate. [online] Available at:
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/freud-man-with-a-thistle-self-portrait-t00422.
vi
Tate. n.d. ‘Girl In A Striped Nightshirt’, Lucian Freud, 1983–5 | Tate. [online] Available at:
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/freud-girl-in-a-striped-nightshirt-t13719.
vii
Freud, L., 1985. Girl In A Striped Nightshirt. [Oil on canvas].
viii
Tate. n.d. ‘Girl With A Kitten’, Lucian Freud, 1947 | Tate. [online] Available at:
https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/freud-girl-with-a-kitten-t12617.
ix
Freud, L., 1947. Girl With A Kitten. [Oil on Canvas].
x
Lucian Freud’s painting technique. 2019. [video] Directed by A. Macpherson. The Royal Academy.
xi
Freud, L., 1947. Still Life With Green Lemon. [Oil on Panel].
xii
Lucianfreud.com. n.d. Lucian Freud Archive - Paintings 1946 To 1949. [online] Available at:
http://lucianfreud.com/lucian-freud-archive---paintings-1946-to-1949.html.
xiii
Freud, L., 2002. Self-Portrait, Reflection. [Oil on Canvas].
xiv
Williamson, B., 2019. Lucian Freud: The Self-Portraits. [online] Studiointernational.com. Available at:
https://www.studiointernational.com/index.php/lucian-freud-the-self-portraits-exhibition-review-royal-
academy-of-arts-london.
xv
Paskett, Z., 2019. Five Of Lucian Freud's Most Important Portraits. [online] Standard.co.uk. Available at:
https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/lucian-freud-best-paintings-portraits-a4238046.html.
xvi
Freud, L., 1954. Hotel Bedroom. [Oil on canvas].
xvii
Tate. N.d. Lucian Freud, Room Guide, Room 3 | Tate. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-
on/tate-britain/exhibition/lucian-freud/lucian-freud-room-guide/lucian-freud-room-guide-room-3.
xviii
Tate. n.d. Lucian Freud, Room Guide, Room 3 | Tate. [online] Available at: https://www.tate.org.uk/whats-
on/tate-britain/exhibition/lucian-freud/lucian-freud-room-guide/lucian-freud-room-guide-room-3.
xix
BBC News. n.d. Lucian Freud's Unseen Childhood Sketch Goes On Display. [online] Available at:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-36528464.
xx
Freud Museum London. n.d. Spotlight On The Archives: Lucie Freud | Freud Museum London. [online]
Available at: https://www.freud.org.uk/2020/03/10/spotlight-on-the-archives-lucie-freud/.
xxi
Freud Museum London. n.d. Lucian Freud As A Child | Freud Museum London. [online] Available at:
https://www.freud.org.uk/exhibitions/lucian-freud-as-a-child/.