Night Portrait 1986

This is Lucian Freud's oil painting, *Night Portrait*. Freud, grandson of Sigmund, was working in London in the late 20th century as the old social certainties of class and empire were crumbling. He pushed portraiture in new directions. This frank depiction of a reclining, nude woman departs from conventional ideals of beauty and challenges the traditional male gaze. The artist's unflinching focus on the body can be seen as a commentary on the changing social mores of the time. The portrait is direct and unidealized. The sitter is presented as an individual, rather than a symbol, reflecting a more democratic spirit in British society. For a deeper understanding of Freud's motivations and artistic context, one might explore his biography, his relationships with other artists, and the cultural history of postwar Britain. The meaning of art, after all, is contingent on its social and institutional context.