Radio Times

Review by:

David Butcher

The stories in this brilliant profile of the late painter Lucian Freud are quite something. Of how he burnt his art school down. Of how he gambled millions at a time on horse races. Of how his luggage on a trip to New York consisted of one shirt in a carrier bag. Of his semi-feral behaviour to women.

The contributors who throw light on him, including models, lovers and children (he had around 14), are affectionate and eloquent about him, so by the end we have a sense of what he might have been like to know: “A show-off with all the desires of not being noticed, but equally wanting to be noticed,” explains one.

But for all the colour of the accounts, the most powerful impact comes from the works themselves, with their lived-in, heavily layered bodies and haunting faces. And at the start of the film is the only footage ever taken of Freud at work, at what turned out to be the very last time he painted. It adds up to an enthralling portrait of an artist.

About this programme

Profile of painter Lucian Freud, who died in July, broadcast to coincide with a major exhibition at the National Portrait Gallery. Born in Germany in 1922, he fled to Britain with his parents when Hitler came to power. The documentary follows his artistic career, from the bohemian early years in 1950s and 60s London through to the international adulation that he enjoyed later in life. The film shows Freud at work on his final painting, while family and friends, including David Hockney and Andrew Parker Bowles, tell the story of a complex man who dedicated his life to portraits at a time when painting - let alone realist painting - was said to be dead.

Cast and crew

Crew

Director

Randall Wright

Executive Producer

Denys Blakeway

Producer

Randall Wright

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