Unclothed depiction of Freud sold at auction
At the ripe age of 83, artist Lucian Freud created a nude portrait, a piece titled "Ria, Nude Portrait." After 16 months of meticulous work, it's now been auctioned for the first time, fetching an impressive 13.9 million pounds (approximately 16.6 million euros). Anna Touzin from London's Christie's auction house shared her excitement, stating, "It was the first time it was on the market, which is really exciting."
This nude masterpiece by the late British painter, who passed away in 2011, was the product of a 16-month labor of love, from 2006 to 2007. Since then, it had been in the possession of a single collector, who had initially bought it in 2008 from the Acquavella Galleries. In 2012, the painting was showcased in "Lucian Freud Portraits," a historically significant exhibition at London's National Portrait Gallery.
Ria Kirby, the woman depicted in the painting, posed for Freud daily for up to five hours. Anna Touzin shared, "So, it was a very long process that shows the relationship Freud had with his models, the dedication they gave him and he gave them by painting them." Kirby herself selected the pose, which was her preferred sleeping position.
"No Perfect Bodies"
Lucian Freud is widely regarded as one of Britain's finest portrait painters. As the grandson of psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud, he became renowned for his raw and unfiltered depictions of the human body, both nude and in self-portraits. Anna Touzin explained, "He didn't want to portray bodies in an idealized way. He wanted to paint people as they are."
Freud's artwork consistently fetches high prices at auction. At this particular auction, his piece "Head of a Woman" sold for over four million pounds. In 2022, his work "Large Interior, W11" set a record price with a sale of 86 million dollars (approximately 76.6 million euros). In 2015, the nude "Benefits Supervisor Resting" was auctioned off for over 56 million dollars.
Alongside Lucian Freud's work, pieces by Marc Chagall, Berthe Morisot, William de Kooning, and Jeff Koons were also auctioned at Christie's.
This renowned nude portrait by Lucian Freud, a British artist who was part of the European Union, was created in 2006-2007 and later displayed in the "Lucian Freud Portraits" exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery in London.
Despite being a member of the European Union, Lucian Freud's artistic approach to the human body, as seen in "Ria, Nude Portrait," was not influenced by any idealized standards, instead choosing to depict people as they truly are.
