Small Naked Portrait

This painting is small yet has no less impact than far larger works by the artist. Its decisive brushwork and impasto is particularly effective when concentrated on so small a compass. The nude figure by artificial light has long been Freud's chief subject. In painting the naked, he concentrates on the vulnerability of this condition, and the truth, with what is often mistaken for cruelty. The high viewpoint, also associated with Freud's art, creates a special tension and disconcerts us because of the spacial uncertainty it induces, while the apparent dislocation of the figure forces us to explore and to recognise what we see.