Head of a Boy 1953

Lucian Freud painted this ‘Head of a Boy’ with oil on canvas, though the exact date is unknown. What strikes me is the way Freud builds up the image through countless small brushstrokes, almost like a mosaic. It’s a slow, deliberate process, each mark carefully considered, and in this way it feels very connected to my own practice. Look at the texture of the paint, how thin and transparent it is in places, allowing the canvas to show through. Notice the subtle shifts in color, the way the pinks and greens blend together to create the illusion of flesh. It's as if Freud is mapping the surface of the skin, recording every bump and hollow with painstaking detail. The overall effect is incredibly intimate and vulnerable. The way he breaks down the boy’s face into these tiny strokes reminds me a little of Chuck Close, another artist obsessed with the human face, even though their styles are so different. In the end, art is about looking, seeing, and feeling, and Freud definitely makes us feel something here.