CMA Exhibition Feature : Lucian Freud (British, born 1922) Head of a Man, 1986

Special Exhibitions

Drawing Modern: Works from the Agnes Gund Collection

Drawing Modern: Works from the Agnes Gund Collection > Highlights of the Exhibition > Lucian Freud (British, born 1922) Head of a Man, 1986



Lucien Freud (British, born 1922) Head of a Man, 1986 Charcoal on paper 25-1/2 x 18-3/4 inches

Lucian Freud (British, born 1922)
Head of a Man, 1986

In a career spanning more than sixty years, Lucian Freud developed a style that synthesizes expressive brushstrokes and rigorous realism. His subjects are often depicted seated or lying down, resting or sleeping, their flesh weighty from the effects of gravity and shown in raking light. Bones appear as a framework beneath deep sinews of skin.

Freud’s torpid treatment of flesh imbues strikingly vital human figures with a potent mortality. Delineating a difference between portraits that are solely representations and those that succeed at the far more difficult task of containing the life of his sitters, Freud said, “I would wish my portraits to be of the people, not like them.” In this charcoal drawing, Freud reveals the essential character of his sitter’s face, while turning his own contemplation of the subject into a portrait that transcends mere likeness.

Page 3 of 8 | On the next page: Jasper Johns (American, born 1930)
Savarin, 1977