The Credit Suisse Exhibition-Lucian Freud: New Perspectives, National Gallery, London: 1 October 2022-22 January 2023

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To mark the centenary of his birth,  The National Gallery shows how Freud’s work evolved over 70 years. Infamous for his evocative nude paintings,  he was one of the  20th century’s greatest figurative painters.

This is the first major survey of Freud's paintings for 10 years bringing together a large selection of his most important works from across seven decades,  spanning early works,  right through to his famous late works. 

Freud's celebrity has often stood in the way of critical consideration of the artist’s work and the historical contexts in which it was made. This exhibition seeks to present new perspectives on Freud’s art, focusing on his tireless and ever-searching commitment to the medium of painting.

From his most intimate pictures to his celebrated large-scale canvases, this exhibition is a unique opportunity to see an astonishing range of work and the remarkable artistic development of one of Britain's finest figurative painters. 

Demonstrating acute awareness of his artistic predecessors, Freud’s painting astutely reflects the history of art. Portraits of sitters clutch flowers in the manner of Hans Holbein (1497/8 - 1543); interiors are infiltrated by Surrealism; couples hold hands reminiscent of Renaissance friendship portraits. 

With paintings of the powerful, such as HM Queen Elizabeth II (c.1999-2001, lent by Her Majesty The Queen from the Royal Collection) the artist positioned himself in the tradition of historic Court Painters, such as Rubens (1577-1640) or Velázquez (1599-1660), all the while paying unflinching attention to everyday sitters, including his own mother, poignantly documented at the end of her life.

Freud often framed his subjects in domestic settings and in his paint-splattered studio, a place that became both stage and subject of his paintings in its own right. Showing how Freud's practice changed throughout the 20th and early 21st centuries, the exhibition culminates in some of Freud's monumental nude portraits. 

The exhibition includes over  60 loans from museums and major private collections around the world including The Museum of Modern Art, New York; Tate; the British Council Collection; London and the Arts Council Collection, London. 

Lucian Freud, Girl with Roses, 1947-8; Courtesy of the British Council Collection. Photo © The British Council © The Lucian Freud Archive / Bridgeman Images
Lucian Freud, Girl with Roses, 1947-8; Courtesy of the British Council Collection. Photo © The British Council © The Lucian Freud Archive / Bridgeman Images

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