Spanning nearly seven decades, his self-portraits give a fascinating insight into both his psyche and his development as a painter – from his earliest portrait, painted in 1939, to his final one executed 64 years later. They trace the fascinating evolution from the linear graphic works of his early career to the fleshier, painterly style he became synonymous with. (Burns, 2016)

Notes: Early works very naive and illustrative in style, including mythological references and very controlled line work. Interesting examples were the unfinished as an insight into process, trial and error but also aesthetically impactful and bold. The work which includes Freud’s presence in a less literal way interesting… why? Particularly the ‘girl with blue toenails’ which took me a while to register Freud in the composition.

Royalacademy.org.uk. (2019). Lucian Freud: The Self-portraits | Exhibition | Royal Academy of Arts. [online] Available at: https://www.royalacademy.org.uk/exhibition/lucian-freud-self-portraits?gclid=Cj0KCQiAn8nuBRCzARIsAJcdIfNwKdBKZzxusvffPPy8vqxhmCPBNqVkKahki9N3AmJ869fzm0Yl1TwaAj4bEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds [Accessed 18 Nov. 2019].