Lucian Freud Mastered the Art of Lostness

"What's the big idea behind Drawing into Painting, a new show of about 170 of Freud's pieces, then? What about digging deep into the archives, and pestering private collectors for their Lucianic riches? That is precisely what has happened. And the overarching theme? How drawing fed into his painting from first to last, and how print-making played a crucial role, too."

"The son of an architect, grandson of Sigmund, he was fleeted away from Germany in 1933 at the age of 11 like many Jewish children. Frank Auerbach and other artists had similar experiences. The earliest drawings show off his passion for steamboats. There are also images of a birdhouse and flowers in a vase, all meticulously rendered."

"Lucian Freud is deep into the 15th year of his posthumous life as a celebrated figurative painter. Where do the custodians of his reputation take him from here? This place has shown Freud off to great effect, more than once within relatively recent memory."

The National Portrait Gallery's exhibition "Drawing into Painting" features approximately 170 works by Lucian Freud, exploring how drawing and printmaking shaped his artistic practice from beginning to end. The show includes both well-known pieces and lesser-seen works, archival materials, and items from private collections. Freud, grandson of Sigmund Freud, fled Germany in 1933 at age 11 as a Jewish child. His earliest drawings reveal interests in steamboats, birdhouses, and flowers rendered with meticulous detail. His 1940s portraits demonstrate a cold, forensic intensity. The exhibition provides insight into Freud's childhood influences and artistic development across multiple mediums.

Read at Hyperallergic