Friday 12 August 2011

DVD Review: Lucian Freud Portraits


DVDLucian Freud - Portraits [DVD] (released 18 April 2005)
Summary: A film portrait of Lucian Freud produced by people he knows well and based on interviews with people who have sat for portraits by Freud. Most of the sitters are also relatives or friends of Freud.  Images of the portraits discussed and other portraits are interspersed with film of the interviewees. I personally found it fascinating and recommend this DVD.

Technical Details: made by
  • film-maker Jake Auerbach (son of Freud's long time friend Frank Auerbach and best known for his documentary films about artists) and 
  • Freud's biographer William Feaver.  Feaver is a painter, critic, writer, and curator. He has curated the following exhibitions: Lucian Freud (2002 Tate and tour), Freud (2005 Museo Correr, Venice), and Freud & Auerbach (2006 V&A). He is the author of the exhibition catalogue, Lucian Freud (Tate, 2002). 
Who should buy this? 
  • fans of Lucian Freud
  • portrait artists
  • aspiring portrait artists
Who should not buy this?
  • artists not interested in portraiture
  • people wanting to see/hear Freud himself
Highlights:
  • the range of sitters/interviewees who include:
  • the range of different people's perspectives - all of whom seem to agree he was a man with a lot of stories who could be great fun. Which seems surprising given that all photos seem to be of somebody who is apparently quite sombre and serious.
  • They all provide insight into the process of the sitting - and an appreciation that the "getting to know the sitter" involved dinners and conversations outside his studio
  • the level of apparent intimacy ie these are people who know the man well and hence talk with the confidence that their interviewer understands what they are saying
Think Again?
  • I think most people will find it leaves them thinking about what Freud's grandfather - Sigmund Freud - would have made of Lucian Freud painting his daughters and granddaughters in the nude, particularly given the fact that he had been a very distant parent!
  • Region 2 DVD - meaning it's only playable in the UK, Europe, Japan, South Africa and Middle East
Producer:  Jake Auerbach Films Limited
Suppliers:  

  • available from Amazon UK and a variety of other online distributors as a Region 2 DVD 
  • has been seen in the shop at the National Portrait Gallery

Link:  Lucian Freud - Resources for Art Lovers

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