A new perspective on Lucian Freud comes to the Thyssen Museum from London

The exhibition was jointly organized by Paloma Alarcó, the UK’s leading art gallery and curator, and the Spanish National Museum of Thyssen-Bornemisza, where artistic director Guillermo Solana traveled to the British capital to finalize the details of the publication.

Following the exhibition held in London from October 1 to January 22, the exhibition, which will open at the Museum of Spain between February 14 and June 18, 2023, also presents Spain’s first comprehensive Freud catalog.

In an interview with a group of Spanish journalists, Alarcó said that this exhibition “tries to see the artist in a different way”, that he is known for his destructive work and his extreme life.

“It was clear to us that Freud has always been studied biographically: his fame, the legend of Sigmund Freud’s grandson (…). In several public statements, he admitted that he had not read a single line of his grandfather on psychoanalysis,” the expert emphasizes.

“It is no longer valid to see Freud’s work as a psychoanalytic approach,” he explains.

Solana and Alarcó point out that there was an “excellent collaboration” between the two museums to organize this exhibition, which due to space constraints will consist of 68 pieces in London and 55 pieces in Madrid, apart from a section reserved for the painter’s mother . special.

Read more: Experts attribute Lucian Freud to a lifelong denial of authorship

In collaboration with his counterpart at the National Gallery Daniel Herrmann, the Spanish curator emphasized the importance of the exhibition in two institutions with historical rather than contemporary art collections.

“Freud has always wanted to compare himself to the masters, his works have many historical references, so there is a continuity of painting in both museums. It’s also a way to look at it from a different perspective,” he says.

In the case of Thyssen, it is also the only Spanish museum with works by Lucian Freud, who played the founding father Hans Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza.

“Lucian Freud. New Perspectives’ is divided into several chapters that more or less chronologically examine the painter’s development and themes.

“Being Freud” embraces his early work more tightly, while “First Portraits” reflects his desire to capture the essence of his models. “Intimacy” honors her penchant for portraying those around her, and “Power” collects portraits of famous people that she will only accept if they meet her terms.

“Studio” focuses on the workplace, the protagonist of many of his creations, and “La Carne” features nude portraits that show a deep observation of the human body.

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Herrmann told EFE that the exhibition “attracts a new generation of painters interested in painting the human body”.

After years of mastering conceptual art in a variety of styles and formats, he adds, there are signs that “figurative painting is making a comeback.”

“Many young artists came to the exhibition to explore what it means to have an ideal body or to portray different bodies, and this question Freud has answered throughout his career. “I think many new artists find Freud’s fascination with the human body intriguing and try to learn from him, get ideas and reinterpret their work in a very productive way,” he explains.

Lucian Freud was born in Berlin on December 8, 1922 into an upper-class Jewish family that emigrated to England after Hitler’s arrival. With several relationships and fourteen known children, the painter was educated in England and became a British citizen in 1939. He died on July 20, 2011 at the age of 88.