Lucian Freud portrait of Queen Elizabeth causes a stir

[Marta Prime]

Huh? What is wrong with seeing something as uncomplicated and as profound as just an "ugly picture?"

[Jim Riley]

Good Grief! Karin

"The Painted Word" revisited. You spent too much time reading Tom Wolfe's book in protest of the modern art theorists that he believed would be remembered more so than the artist they attempted to explain. Your parody aside, I'm still not sure that I understand the need to put down one school of painting over another.

The dismissal of realism/classical to justify modern art was no worse than any current attempts to belittle contemporary painters like Freud. If I had the funds I would not buy one of his paintings but I will continue to believe that his efforts are sincere and I was pleased to read Annette's post that suggests a more liberal acceptance of truth/realism. Otherwise we could easily become guilty of naval staring. Endlessly worrying about the fine points (?) of painting.

Like where the light must come from, the pigments we use, which way to face the subject etc. As Wiliam Merritt Chase said "I prefer a little deviltry" He might have suggested some provocation also to escape formalized blandness that creeps into our work as we find commercial success.

[Steven Sweeney]

I'm always a little surprised to get lassoed back into this topic, because I can barely recall posting a response, perhaps because it was more of a late night drive-by shooting than a considered observation, the very sort of vocalized gut reaction that I've said elsewhere that I don't favor. Mea maxima culpa.

I think that my initial impulse went not to the technical aspects, really, but to the impression I had of the seeming disrespect for the portrait subject (Queen or not). To me, it's an honor to be allowed to paint someone's portrait, and I feel obliged to at the very least "do no harm".

That being said, there probably isn't a person in the world with any familiarity with the Queen who wouldn't see this portrait and say, yep, that's the Queen. We should all be so successful in universal recognition of a likeness we've worked to capture, much less in an unorthodox rendering. The artist clearly pinned down something most essential about the subject -- not the "something" that we're accustomed to seeing in the typical publicity releases, but something we nonetheless can't deny recognizing. Not bad.

And if it took 6 years of negotiations, the arbiters of royal taste must have had a pretty good idea of what they were getting into, and they agreed, so perhaps no offense was taken. But 70 sittings? For a 6x9 painting? Methinks Lucky and Her Maj must have had more than a mutual appreciation for tea and crumpets. Something's just not on, Mum. Better have the maid inventory the flatware.

Here's what I suspect Freud thinks of all of this: nothing. Couldn't care less, if he's even aware of it, which I doubt. Wouldn't it be great to have that kind of freedom as an artist, whatever one's style and approach? I can't imagine Sigmund's grandson lying on a couch somewhere, wringing his hands and tearfully trying to choke out a response to a therapist's prompt, "And how does all that criticism make you feel? Angry? Sad?"

Off the wall and out of the ordinary is a nice whack on the side of the head sometimes. I just took my alto sax-playing son to a performance by a saxophone quartet that, among other things, played one piece entirely a 1/16 off the beat (each player choosing one side or the other), and another selection was rendered with saxophones tipped back so that the players' saliva remained in the mouthpiece, resulting in gurgling bubble notes. It was brilliant (though I wouldn't want the CD). And I'll tell you what, you have to be incredibly good to be that "bad". I'm sure there wasn't a single person in the audience who wasn't completely caught up in it -- some caught more reluctantly than others -- all the way through standing ovations and the third encore.

On a similar note, if you ever wanted to develop an appreciation for bassoon, it's hard to go wrong with a recording from the Bubonic Bassoon Quartet. I have a hunch that Freud played that tape a few times while he painted this gurgling royal bubble.

Room for all,
Steven

[Rochelle Brown]

Oh Karin...

[Mike McCarty]

When I view this piece without the politics, that is without knowing who it is or who painted it, I give it a more favorable judgement. To see it randomly on a wall I think it would make me stop and hold my interest. Would I have the nerve to present it to the Queen? I think not.

[Timothy C. Tyler]

I've always wondered where Freuds' career would be were he born Louie Fred.

Remember at one point the Beatles became aware of the fame of their name moving their music onward? So, they wrote some songs which were released by other artists. These songs were hits too.

I'll bet ole Lucian really wonders about this too. He could enter lots of competitions under pen names and show us all, or could he?

[Margaret Elvin]

I find the contrast between the way Freud painted the her face and the crown both interesting and disconcerting. The face has an awkward paint by number quality to it while the crown has an almost photo-realism to it. It's as if he's saying the the crown is real, but she's not. (Karin, et al, if I'm indulging in artspeak, please excuse, but I couldn't resist!)

While I concede that Freud's self-portrait is a little scary looking, I actually like it. He captured what I presume to be his own intense energy and made me pause to acknowledge it. I admire that capacity.

One more thing about the Queen's portrait...what's up with the 5:00 shadow?

-Margaret

[Karin Wells]

Egad, what was Lucian really saying here! A 5 O'clock shadow on the Queen? Perhaps this "Freudian slip" reveals some deeply held royal secret...

[Nathaniel Miller]

Hello all,

My admittedly uneducated opinion:

If it takes 5 pages of discussion to devine the "meaning" of a painting (esepecially such a simple one) then the artist has failed to communicate, not to mention uglifying the sitter(sure....it's a word).

I noticed that nearly everyone had a negative reaction to it at first (i.e. it is aesthetically unappealing). After we saw his self-portrait (which I thought was interesting, but not that great) then we started guessing at what he could be "saying" by creating such work, and the amateurish, ugly nature of the painting seemed less important.

In my view, if you're painting a portrait as a gift, aesthetic pleasantness should be a minimal requirement, even if you're not trying to beautify the sitter.

I'm sure you're right that Freud couldn't care any less. As with a lot of paintings, it's the hype that gets the praise and notoriety, not the work itself (may not be true of all his work, but I think it applies to this one).

Hope I don't seem too judgemental,
Nathan

[Jim Riley]

Nathan,

The five pages may not be the result of "failure to communicate" by the artist as much as the wish by many to beat the messenger when you don't like the message. Which has been one constant in art history. I understand quite a stir took place when artist first dared to mix colors with oil, use dramatic light and darks (Rembrandt), and were rejected by the official art communities when they dabbled in nonsence called "Impressionism".

The only difference between me and a madman is that I'm not mad. -Salvador
Dali, painter (1904-1989)