Man with a Blue Scarf: On Sitting for a Portrait by Lucian Freud

(Paperback)

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Description

Lucian Freud (1922-2011), widely regarded as the greatest figurative painter of our time, spent seven months painting a portrait of the art critic Martin Gayford. The daily narrative of their encounters takes us into that most private place, the artist's studio, and to the heart of the working methods of this modern master - both technical and subtly psychological. From this emerges an understanding of what a portrait is, but something else is also built up: a portrait, in words, of Freud himself. Full of wry and revealing observations, this is a book not quite like any other: the inside story of how it feels to pose for a remarkable artist, and be transformed into a work of art.

Reviews

'One of the best books about art, and the making of art, that I have ever read' - Julian Barnes
'Freud is vividly surprising, potent and dynamic ... a portrait of an anarchic painter with views on everything from Leonardos failings to Princess Margarets voice' - Observer
'If it is Freud who dominates this book, it is Gayfords achievement to bring him out and to do so with wit and humour as well as acute intelligence ... literally inimitable' - Guardian

Author Bio

Martin Gayford is art critic for The Spectator and the author of acclaimed books on Van Gogh, Constable and Michelangelo. He is the author of many books, including Man with a Blue Scarf, Rendez-vous with Art, (with Philippe de Montebello), A Bigger Message, Modernists & Mavericks, A History of Pictures (with David Hockney), The Pursuit of Art and Spring Cannot be Cancelled, all published by Thames & Hudson.