Label TextLike his contemporary Francis Bacon, Freud’s art explores the expressive qualities of the human figure. He is best known for large-scale portraits rendered in unflinching detail. As in all of Freud’s work, the realism of this image is unsparing, but is rendered with a sensitivity and articulateness that keeps it from being cruel. The woman in this portrait is Sue Tilley, a civil servant the artist has depicted many times, often sleeping or resting as she is here. Her pose seems unusual for a portrait, as much of her face is hidden. However, Freud considers posture and gesture to be as important as facial expression, claiming that “I underplay facial expression when painting the figure, because I want expression to emerge through the body… I want the head, as it were, to be more like another limb.” Here, the woman’s fleshy arms, and curved shoulders seem to say as much as her distorted but restful face.
DimensionsSheet: 27 3/4 × 36 1/4 in. (70.5 × 92.1 cm)
Plate: 23 1/2 × 32 1/4 in. (59.7 × 81.9 cm)
Plate: 23 1/2 × 32 1/4 in. (59.7 × 81.9 cm)
Accession Number 2000.22
Classificationsprint
Edition17/40
Provenance(Matthew Marks Gallery, New York); Des Moines Art Center [purchased from the previous, 2000]
