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
The picture is all he feels about it, all he thinks worth preserving of it, all he invests it with. If all the qualities which a painter took from the model for his picture were really taken, no person could be painted twice.
Interpretation
What this quote means
This quote suggests that a painter's interpretation of a subject is subjective and unique, reflecting only what the artist values.
Lucian Freud highlights the deeply personal nature of artistic expression, implying that a painter captures not just the physical likeness of a subject, but infuses their own feelings, thoughts, and priorities into the artwork. This subjectivity means that each painting is singular and unrepeatable, as it embodies the artist's distinct perception and emotional investment in their subject matter.
Themes
ArtSubjectivityPaintingPersonal ExpressionEmotion
In practice
Example use cases
This quote can be used in an art class discussion to emphasize the personal connection artists have with their work.
More from Lucian Freud
All quotes →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.
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 paint people, not because of what they are like, not exactly in spite of what they are like, but how they happen to be.
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
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