‘Anna in Venice’, Lucian Freud, 1960, ‘Unseen’ exhibition, The National Portrait Gallery

While visiting The National Portrait Gallery to see the ‘Unseen’ Lucian Freud exhibition, I was captivated by his piece ‘Anna of Venice,’ a small-scale painting of a woman in one of the artist’s sketch books.

What I noticed about the piece is how it is different from the famous textured oil techniques of which Freud is renowned for, hinting at its unpolished nature. Furthermore, the fact that the piece remains tucked away in a sketch book lowers the status of the work to me. Rather than being hung proudly, the piece was in a sketch book; within a glass cabinet in the centre of the exhibition. Its lower status grabbed me as I came to the realisation that this particular painting is an insight to the real process of the artist, becoming almost intrusive due to the private nature of a sketch book.

The neutral tones of the painting imply an element of female passivity. Reinforcing this is the averted gaze of the subject. Her eyes remain closed, shielded by a veil of lashes, while her face points downwards to the ground- conveying a modest woman refraining from vanity. She remains closed; not revealing much about herself to the audience viewing her. Therefore, we almost feel a sense of guilt and shame looking upon her.