OCA students on the delights of the flesh at the National Portrait Gallery

Another study visit, this time to see the hugely popular Lucien Freud retrospective at the National Portrait Gallery, which was preceded by a lecture in the gallery in a plush lecture theatre, elicited the following responses from two happy students.

Dawn Finneran:
‘There won’t be another chance to see all of these works together. Many are in private collections they are not likely to see the light of day in public again for many years if at all – so this was an exhibition not to miss on many levels.
Jean Baylis:
‘Having taken the time to look at Lucian Freud’s life and work before the study visit, I was prepared a little more to understand this painter’s ‘journey’. The talk in the lecture theatre enhanced the experience, we felt invited to ask questions and make comments, it was a lovely insight to Freud before seeing the actual work. However, nothing can prepare you for a painting which tries to see inside someone’s mind. Look at the eyes of his sitters to understand what Freud was trying to achieve, he wanted to work the paint and show so much more. Later in life he discovered techniques to treat flesh in an impasto sculptured way using colour and tone to create form. Layering in this way really inspires me. This visit proved to be a valuable day to remember’.

and Dawn again:
‘I was particularly fascinated with the texture, photographs in books do not convey texture at all. I couldn’t help studying the works right up close, they were breathtaking. The brushmarks were various within a work and served only partial areas rather than one or two specific techniques used across the whole work. The way he painted the human flesh was outstanding, I thought I could cup the breasts in my hands and feel the shape of the stomach areas with my eyes. The flesh colours were amazing. He used pure red touches just bringing the flesh tones out of the canvas and purples to denote shadows. He even expressed clothed figures in a contrasting way, far more stiff in appearance. What made me laugh was my change of reaction from the smaller nudes to the larger ones of Leigh Bowery, the performance artist, for example. Because of the way Freud worked – up close to his models – the viewer’s perspective becomes that of Freud’s as he worked, so I really felt as if I was invading the sitters’ personal spaces without pre-consent and I have never knowingly felt this until now’.
All in all it was a very eye-opening day, and once again it was fantastic to meet and talk to more OCA students! I highly recommend these visits to all students.