Red Haired Man on a Chair 1963

Lucian Freud painted this square canvas, Red Haired Man on a Chair, with oils, building up the image through layers of observation. There’s such care in how the colours are mixed - not flat but alive, like skin itself. Look how Freud uses texture. It's not just about smoothness; it's about feeling the weight and presence of the sitter. The paint is worked and reworked, thick in places, thin in others, creating a surface that’s both fleshy and austere. The hands especially, knotted and clasped, are rendered with such attention, they tell a story of labour, of a life lived. The off-kilter composition and muted palette, dominated by earthy greens and greys, reminds me a little of Degas. Both artists were interested in capturing a kind of unvarnished reality. But where Degas often sought elegance, Freud seems intent on revealing something rawer, more vulnerable. His work reminds us that art is not just about beauty, but about truth, however uncomfortable that may be.