DVD Review: Lucian Freud Portraits

DVD: Lucian 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: his daughters, Bella Freud and Esther Freud, and granddaughters the late Duke and the now Dowager Duchess of Devonshire  fellow painter David Hockney - a particular highlight for me! friends - Louise Lidell and Andrew Parker-Bowles ex-lovers professional models: the wife of performance artist and model Leigh Bowery and "Big Sue" - Sue Tilley (the Benefits Supervisor) 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