Head on a Green Sofa 1961

Lucian Freud made this painting of a head on a green sofa with oil on canvas. Just look at that head resting there! You can imagine Freud’s been working away at this painting, layering and building up the face. See how the brushstrokes follow the forms, giving it such volume? I can almost feel the weight of the body sinking into the couch. I wonder what Freud was thinking when he made it? Perhaps he was totally absorbed in the act of observation, trying to capture every little nuance of light and shadow. The painting feels like a slow reveal. Freud’s got this way of making skin look so fleshy and real, even if it's a little unsettling. It's a total mood. Painters are always looking at each other, you know, responding to what came before. "Head on a Green Sofa" continues a timeless conversation about what it means to see and be seen. The act of painting is an encounter, a moment frozen in time, but still alive with feeling.