The book I chose to study was ‘Man with a Blue Scarf’ by Martin Gayford (2014). It is single narrative and autobiographical, following Gayford through his experience ‘Sitting for a Portrait by Lucien Frued’. The author, Gayford, is an art critic and novelist; currently working for Spectator magazine but has worked for many more publications. This book’s purpose is to give a personal insight into the working practises of Lucien Freud.

What I found most interesting about this book is the intimate detail of Freud’s process while painting, his movements of everyday life and the closeness of relationship between the sitter and painter. For example when moving around his studio he is described to be simple ‘standing’ but ‘constantly dancing around’. (2014, p.49). This is amazing to me as one, over the years I have come to love Freud’s work and hearing more about his process of working gives me a further understanding of his paintings and two, it’s inspiring that for his age he was able to move so freely and create such work. From that information you can really tell where the energy from his work comes from.

Another aspect I enjoy is insight into other artist’s opinions. In an conversation with Damien Hirst he compares a great painting as something you could ‘eat’, like an ‘ice-cream’. This is because of the physicality of paint, the ‘layers’ (2014, p.96) This comparison to me demonstrates the appealing nature of a good painting, food is appealing to the eyes just like a piece of work can be.

Bibliography

Gayford, M., 2014. Man with a blue scarf. London: Thames and Hudson.

Anon, 2017. Martin Gayford Art Critic. [online] Martingayford.co.uk. Available at: <http://martingayford.co.uk/> [Accessed 11 Oct. 2017].