Head of a boy

Lucian Freud British, born Germany

1953

Not on view

This precise, uncomplicated drawing represents a boy with downcast eyes emerging from the sheet of paper, his head only partially visible. The stark realism and compressed space that characterize Freud’s graphic output of the 1950s are evident in this small portrait. Freud created this work at a time when he began to move away from drawing to concentrate on painted representations of the figure. Yet the artist’s focused depiction of the boy’s head reflects his career-long preoccupation with capturing both his sitter’s inner psychological state and the close relationship between artist and model. In these ways, it represents an important early precursor to the artist’s later painted works that display the same analytic intensity.

Artwork Details

Overview

Inscriptions and Markings

Provenance

References

Title: Head of a boy
Artist: Lucian Freud (British (born Germany), Berlin 1922–2011 London)
Date: 1953
Medium: Charcoal and and blue, white and traces of yellow chalk on paper (recto); Pen and ink on paper (verso)
Dimensions: 16 5/8 × 14 3/16 in. (42.2 × 36 cm)
Classification: Drawings
Credit Line: Gift of Drue Heinz Trust, 2018
Object Number: 2018.651.4a, b
Curatorial Department: Modern and Contemporary Art

More Artwork

By Lucian Freud

In the same medium

From the same time and place

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Head and Shoulders of a Girl

Multiple artists/makers

1990

Kai, Lucian Freud British, born Germany, Etching — Kai
Multiple artists/makers
1991–92

Ill in Paris, Lucian Freud British, born Germany, Etching — Ill in Paris
Lucian Freud
1948

Man Posing, Lucian Freud British, born Germany, Etching — Man Posing
Multiple artists/makers
1985, published 1986

Seated Man Smoking, Lucian Freud British, born Germany, Pen and black ink on paper — Seated Man Smoking
Lucian Freud
1942

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