Since the model he so faithfully copies is not going to be hung up next to the picture... it is of no interest whether it is an accurate copy of the model.
Lucian FreudRead
When I look at a body it gives me choice of what to put in a painting, what will suit me and what won't. There is a distinction between fact and truth. Truth has an element of revelation about it. If something is true, it does more than strike one as merely being so.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote emphasizes the difference between mere facts and deeper truths, particularly in the context of artistic representation.
Lucian Freud reflects on the artist's perspective when observing bodies, highlighting that the process of creating art involves choices that go beyond simply reproducing what is visible. He distinguishes between facts, which are straightforward observations, and truths, which emerge from a deeper understanding or revelation that resonates on an emotional level. For Freud, capturing truth in painting requires a subjective interpretation that conveys more than the surface appearance.
Themes
ArtTruthRevelationPaintingObservation
In practice
Example use cases
In an art seminar discussing the significance of perception in painting.
More from Lucian Freud
All quotes →It is the only point of getting up every morning: to paint, to make something good, to make something even better than before, not to give up, to compete, to be ambitious.
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The character of the artist doesn't enter into the nature of the art
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I paint people, not because of what they are like, not exactly in spite of what they are like, but how they happen to be.
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I could never put anything into a picture that wasn't actually there in front of me. That would be a pointless lie, a mere bit of artfulness.
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I have a hatred of habit and routine. And what dogs love is just that. They like regular everything, and I don't have regular anything. I have a timetable, but no routine.
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