Two Men In The Studio
Two Men In The Studio
Signed Print
Lucian Freud
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40 x 36cm, Edition of 25, Etching
Medium: Etching
Edition size: 25
Year: 1989
Size: H 40cm x W 36cm
Signed: Yes
Format: Signed Print
Last Auction: May 2017
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Meaning & Analysis
This etching was produced by Lucian Freud in 1989, and illustrates the mirror-image of a painting with the same title. In the foreground, the nude figure of Angus Cook stretches up the length of the composition. His feet, which appear disproportionately large, stand upon a bed, underneath which the head of another man peers up at Cook. Beyond the two figures, Freud has represented the inside of his studio, with canvases propped up against the wall.
Angus Cook, a filmmaker who Freud clearly took a liking to, sat for the artist over the period of 1985-90, and is the subject of at least seven paintings and seven etchings. Like his other etchings of Cook, like Man Posing and Naked Man On Bed, this particular etching was produced alongside a painting with a similar composition. The fact that Freud decided to produce etchings alongside his painted portraits of Cook is testament to his preoccupation with the sitter. For Freud, it didn't particularly matter whether his sitter was male or female. Of prime important to him was engaging with his sitter on a deeply psychological level, so that he could truly understand and therefore represent them.
Though Freud rarely depicted men in his Naked Portraits, Two Men In The Studio is testament to his ability to capture his sitters with blunt honesty and psychological depth. Though the bodily proportions here aren't as biologically accurate as we might expect from Freud, he still captures the confident character of his sitter with great attention to detail.
Famed for his representations of the human form, Lucian Freud is one of the 20th Century's most celebrated artists. The grandson of psychoanalyst, Sigmund Freud, the artist confronts the psychological depth and bare complexities of the human body. From his early works to his celebrated nudes and portraits, Freud's canvases resonate with an almost tactile intensity, capturing the essence of his subjects with unwavering honesty. Freud painted only himself, close friends, and family, which floods his work with an intimacy that is felt by the viewer. His pursuit of honesty through portraiture shaped the trajectory of figurative art in the 20th century.
