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The Freud (Lucian) bible
Lucian Freud. Among the many publications available on the British master, this one is undoubtedly the best. Written by a specialist of Freud's art, it is almost a catalogue raisonné and follows a chronological pattern that starts with the early paintings from the 1940's and ends with the latest works from 2007. Especially interesting are the various interviews of the artist that give invaluable insight on his working methods and how he views his own art. All the illustrations are in full color and enable the reader to distinguish the thick and brutal brushstrokes of the painter and his ability to extract the beauty in the ugliness of the human being.
A tour de force of an artbook.
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Superb!
Lucian Freud. The book opens with an essay by William Feaver; personal and enlightening it makes fascinating reading; the writer has clearly known the artist for some time. Feaver conveys a clear picture of the artist, his background and training, and his approach to his work. Also included are four conversations between Fever and Lucian Freud: November 1992 (appeared The Observer December 1992), April 1998 (The Observer May 1998), November 2001 (on John Constable) and February 2007. The book concludes with a List of Illustrations, fairly brief Chronology and a Bibliography.
This book is illustrated throughout in full-colour including the black and white drawings but not the etchings, which alone are reproduced in black and white half-tone. There are 362 illustrations in the Plates section with many more pictures accompanying the essay.
This large format book comes in a very substantial slip-case. The outstanding feature of the book however is the reproduction of the paintings; mostly full-page in size, with many bleed images and several double-page spreads. The work is arranged chronologically with the earliest dating from 1939 up to 2006; almost entirely portraits, figures or groups, there is the occasional still life and a few scenes. An impressive and beautiful book superbly illustrated, it is to be highly recommended.
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Very nice.
Lucian Freud. This is a very nice reprint in a slipcase version. Its artwork chronicles up throgh 2006. I have the old Random House slip case book from 1996 with an intro by Bernard. The reproductions up through '96 are almost all the same. The Random House versions images are about 20 percent bigger. This new book has three nice interviews with Freud. This version has about 75 paintings beyond the 1996 version. Not enough for me to keep the book, but If you are looking for the best catalog of his work, this is it. Get it now, it will go out of print and a book shark will be happy to sell it to you at 5 times its current price.
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