Portraits - Lucian Freud

Sunday, a friend and I visited The Modern in Fort Worth and strolled through the Lucien Freud portrait exhibit. I saw it a month ago with my husband and can't say I was enthralled then. The second time through I saw more nuances. I spent more time on portraits I did like, and glossed over ones I had no interest in.

Here's the quote from this brochure - His visceral renderings of people from all walks of life have a painterly and psychological drama that is unparalleled in contemporary art.

I said to my friend, "Lucien had issues." These are certainly not happy paintings. His sitters are haunted, exhausted, sad, and aging before our eyes. Thick layers of paint are like the weight of the world on these poor folks' faces.

There are definitely deep stories to be told from these people or even from Mr.Freud's own self portraits, from youth to aged. He died over a year ago and left behind a treasure trove. I have a better appreciation of his art. One could bring a portrait to life and have a character tale of sordid wretchedness.