Leigh on a Green Sofa 1993

Lucian Freud’s ‘Leigh on a Green Sofa’ is a painting made with oils, and what strikes me first is the complete lack of prettification. The paint is thick, but applied in such a way that it almost disappears; it is a record of seeing. The arm is almost cut off, and the head is placed in the very center of the canvas. What results is a sense of tension, of discomfort. Look at the color around the figure's face, and you will see colors that are almost like bruises - raw and painful. What’s clear is the artist has taken the time to really look at the sitter, without flinching. There’s a brutality to Freud's work that is softened by the care he takes with the surface. I am reminded of Picasso's blue period, though Freud seems to be showing us something darker, a kind of truth that we might rather avoid.