Lucien Freud
Quotations

"I could never put anything into a picture that wasn't actually there in front of me. That would be a pointless lie, a mere bit of artfulness."

 

"I want paint to work as flesh... my portraits to be of the people, not like them. Not having a look of the sitter, being them ... As far as I am concerned the paint is the person. I want it to work for me just as flesh does."

 

"What do I ask of a painting? I ask it to astonish, disturb, seduce, convince."

 

"I use the gallery as if it were a doctor. I come for ideas and help—to look at situations within painting, rather than paintings. "