Since the model he so faithfully copies is not going to be hung up next to the picture... it is of no interest whether it is an accurate copy of the model.
Lucian FreudRead
Whether it will convince or not, depends entirely on what it is in itself, what is there to be seen.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The effectiveness of an artwork depends on its intrinsic qualities and what it conveys to the viewer.
This quote by Lucian Freud emphasizes that the power of art lies in its inherent characteristics and the ability to evoke a response from the observer. The viewer's interpretation and connection to the artwork are influenced by its composition, subject matter, and emotional resonance, highlighting the subjective nature of art appreciation.
Themes
ArtInterpretationViewer'S PerspectiveIntrinsic QualitySubjective
In practice
Example use cases
An art critic discussing a new exhibition might quote this to emphasize the importance of the artworks' inherent qualities.
More from Lucian Freud
All quotes βWhen I look at a body it gives me choice of what to put in a painting, what will suit me and what won't. There is a distinction between fact and truth. Truth has an element of revelation about it. If something is true, it does more than strike one as merely being so.
Lucian FreudRead
It is the only point of getting up every morning: to paint, to make something good, to make something even better than before, not to give up, to compete, to be ambitious.
Lucian FreudRead
The character of the artist doesn't enter into the nature of the art
Lucian FreudRead
I paint people, not because of what they are like, not exactly in spite of what they are like, but how they happen to be.
Lucian FreudRead
I could never put anything into a picture that wasn't actually there in front of me. That would be a pointless lie, a mere bit of artfulness.
Lucian FreudRead
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Everything that I saw became something to be made, and it had to be exactly as it was, with nothing added. It was a new freedom: there was no longer the need to compose. The subject was there already made, and I could take from everything. It all belonged to me: a glass roof of a factory, with its broken and patched panels, lines on a road map, a corner of a Braque painting, paper fragments in the street. It was all the same: anything goes.
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