The Freud Project, a major exhibition focusing on the life and work of Lucian Freud, opens today at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA). Fifty of these works have largely been curated through private collections and will be on loan to the museum for the next five years, providing a unique opportunity for the Irish public to engage with such a significant body of work by one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.
Freud, through his visceral portrayal of his subjects, has had a major impact on the landscape of modern art, and has become known as one of the greatest realist painters of the 20th century. The exhibition consists of 30 paintings and 20 works on paper, mostly dating from 1970 onwards, including a series of etchings and drawings.
Freud was a prolific portrait painter, and it is these intimate works which dominate the exhibition, punctuated with other subject matter including various scenes of nature and animals throughout. A notoriously private man, Freud’s portraits usually only feature people who were close to him, friends, family, lovers, and himself. Walking through the exhibition, one gets an insight into the artists incredibly complex thought process. Speaking at the launch of the exhibition, Freud’s assistant David Dawson shed light how Freud’s artwork displays his intimate relationships with the people in his paintings as he analysed the subtle mannerisms of a person, right down to their ticks the movement of their muscles, conveying their presence through a layering of looking and decision making. Having never formally studied anatomy, his artworks convey a “painstaking naturalism”, showing his reaction to the relationship with that person and how they moved within their own skin, almost making paint turn into flesh.
Spread out over three floors, the exhibition features some of the artist’s most striking and intimate portraits, which have been displayed in a series of small rooms, enhancing the experience of viewing the intimate nature of these works. Because of the real, personal relationships he had with his subjects, his work can be seen as autobiographical and his “life and art cannot be separated”, as stated in the gallery’s introduction to the exhibition. The meticulous attention to detail in his portraits is a reflection of his love for the sitter and his deep knowledge of their personality and mannerisms.
Among the first images that the viewer sees upon entering the gallery are two portraits of the artist’s mother. Her gaze is averted, provoking closer inspection, upon which one can see the lines of Freud’s brushstrokes, precisely worked to give an honest and accurate depiction. This can also be seen in works such as Albie and Pearce Family where the thick, heavy impasto can be seen on the faces and hands, focusing on the most expressive parts of the body showing a painstaking working and reworking of the paint, while the rest of the canvas remains relatively smooth in comparison.
Most of the portraits are of individuals, but some of Freud’s rarer group portraits have been presented. A large work entitled Two Irishmen hangs on the upper floor of the gallery and shows a powerful depiction of a father and son together in the artist’s studio. Freud was said to have had difficulty with his group portraits in making the relationships between people believable, as he wanted the subjects to appear separated from each other while depicted together on the same canvas. The strong sense of unease between the two figures here is juxtaposed with their proximity to one another, their somewhat uncomfortable relationship being immediately apparent. The greatest attention to detail is again seen on the faces and hands, and a thick layering of paint can be seen in these areas, showing Freud’s active process of looking and decision making, in order to convey their character.
The Freud Project aims to create a space for inspiration, thought and learning. Throughout its course, it will evolve to include works by other artists, creating a dialogue with new works and exploring the theme of identity. The programme will also lead to artist residencies. IMMA intends for this exhibition to be accessible to a wide audience, becoming a national resource which will develop over the next five years.
Freud’s works have the innate ability to move us through their powerful yet tender and intimate nature, and his rendering of the human condition resonates with audiences. Through this important five year loan, the project has the potential to connect with a wide audience of people and overall shows the significant impact that Freud had on modern art.
