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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote reflects the artist's focus on the essence of individuals rather than their external traits or identities.
Lucian Freud's quote emphasizes that art should capture the inherent qualities and emotional states of subjects, rather than merely depicting their physical appearances or societal roles. It suggests a deeper, more nuanced understanding of people, as artists strive to portray the complexities of human experience in their work.
Themes
ArtPortraitHuman NatureEmotionExpression
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in an art class to inspire students to explore emotional depth in their portraits.
More from Lucian Freud
All quotes βWhen 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.
Lucian FreudRead
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.
Lucian FreudRead
The character of the artist doesn't enter into the nature of the art
Lucian FreudRead
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.
Lucian FreudRead
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.
Lucian FreudRead
Similar quotes
For a lot of people, well-meaning teaching has made poetry seem arcane, difficult, a kind of brown-knotting medicine that might be good for you but doesn't taste so good. So I tried to make a collection of poetry that would be fun. And that would bring out poetry as an art, rather than the challenge to say smart things.
Robert PinskyRead
Truly great images make all the other millions of images you look at unimportant. You gotta look at an image and understand it in a nanosecond.
George LoisRead
Botox should be banned for actors, as steroids are for sportsmen. Acting is all about expression; why would you want to iron out a frown?
Rachel WeiszRead
I believe in living a poetic life, an art full life. Everything we do from the way we raise our children to the way we welcome our friends is part of a large canvas we are creating.
Maya AngelouRead
I have never been an easy fit. I'm a leading lady character actor; I don't fit in one slot simply.
Holly HunterRead
Until I saw Chardin's painting, I never realized how much beauty lay around me in my parents' house, in the half-cleared table, in the corner of a tablecloth left awry, in the knife beside the empty oyster shell.
Marcel ProustRead