Julie and Martin 2001

Lucian Freud’s painting, Julie and Martin, captures a stark intimacy with oil on canvas. The visible brushstrokes render every detail – the creases in their clothing, the texture of their skin, the worn sheets. The paint is applied in layers, creating depth and volume. The choice of oil paint—a traditional medium used for centuries—allows for a rich, tactile surface. Freud uses this medium to explore the complexities of the human form, often focusing on the raw and unidealized aspects of the body, which speaks to the labor and lived experiences etched onto the figures. The realism invites the viewer to see the subjects not just as figures, but as individuals marked by their own histories. By emphasizing the physical presence of his subjects through the materiality of paint, Freud challenges conventional notions of beauty, and elevates the ordinary.