Lucian Freud was one of the most significant figurative painters of the 20th century, best known for his uncompromising portraits and nudes that examine the physical and psychological presence of the human body.
Working almost exclusively from life, Freud developed a distinctive painterly language marked by dense impasto, close observation and an intense focus on flesh, surface and form.
Born in Berlin in 1922, Freud moved to Britain in 1933 following the rise of Nazism. He trained at the Central School of Art, the Cedric Morris School of Painting at Dedham and later at Goldsmiths’ College, where his early work showed the influence of Surrealism and Northern Renaissance painting. By the 1950s, however, Freud had turned decisively towards a more direct and physically engaged form of realism.
Freud was closely associated with the School of London, alongside artists such as Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach and Leon Kossoff, who shared a commitment to figurative painting at a time when abstraction dominated international art. His sitters included friends, family members, fellow artists and, later in life, public figures, all depicted with the same unflinching scrutiny.
Throughout his career, Freud rejected idealisation, instead presenting the body as weighted, vulnerable and distinctly human. His paintings are characterised by prolonged sittings, a limited but expressive palette and a tactile handling of paint that emphasises the physical reality of his subjects.
Lucian Freud exhibited widely during his lifetime, with major retrospectives at institutions including Tate Britain, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Centre Pompidou. His works are held in leading public and private collections worldwide.
