Lot 15

DC Art, Sydney (label verso)
Rex Irwin Art Gallery, Sydney (label verso)
Private collection, Melbourne

Lucian Freud: Works on Paper, South Bank Centre, London, 1988, cat. no. 88 (another impression)
Lucian Freud, Tate Gallery Liverpool, British Council exhibition, 4 February – 22 March 1992, cat. no. 59, (then toured Australia) (another impression)
Lucian Freud Etchings 1946 – 2004, Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, 2 April –13 June 2004, (then toured England) (another impression)
Lucian Freud: The Painter's Etchings, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 16 December 2007 – 10 March 2008, cat. no. 34 (another impression)

Bevan, R., Freud's Latest Etchings, Print Quarterly, vol. 3, December 1986, pp. 334 – 343 (illus., p. 340 another impression)
Lucian Freud, The British Council, London and Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney, 1992, cat. no. 59, p. 78 (illus., another impression)
Hartley, C., The Etchings of Lucian Freud: A Catalogue Raisonné, 1946 – 1995, Marlborough Graphics and Ceribelli, London, 1995, cat. no. 25 (illus., another impression)
Bernard, B., Birdsall, D., Lucian Freud, Jonathan Cape, Random House, London, 1996, cat. no. 200, p. 356, (illus., another impression)
Figura, S., Lucian Freud, The Painter's Etchings, Museum of Modern Art, New York, 2008, pp. 65, 135, 142 (illus., p. 34, another impression)

Other impressions of this print are held in the permanent collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; and National Galleries of Scotland, Edinburgh.

RELATED WORK:
Lucian Freud, Girl Sitting 1987-88, oil on canvas, private collection.

Lucian Freud's 'Girl Holding Her Foot' features an anonymous sitter who also appears in a painting of the same name. The painting provides a clearer setting, depicting the girl seated on a quilted sofa in Freud's studio. The etching, however, presents the figure suspended in an undefined space. The focus is solely on the pose and presence of the woman, as her flesh contours the outline of her body.

Freud's approach to his subjects goes beyond sketching them. Through long and challenging sittings, he forms an intimate connection with them, seeing them at their most relaxed, vulnerable or candid. His works reflect this intimacy, capturing the essence of the individuals rather than conforming to the prescribed expectations of beauty. Freud's 'naked portraits', as he preferred to call them, challenge the conventional standards of portraiture. They offer an unidealised view of female portraiture, of how breasts drop and pool on top of a woman's chest, curves buckle and extrude across the body. The artist has created 'Girl Holding Her Foot' as a pure and uninhibited portrayal of the human body.

Whilst primarily a painter, etching became an integral part of his practice. Unlike traditional printmakers, Freud treats the etching plate as a canvas, standing the copper plate upright on an easel. As he does with his paintings, the artist works directly from his models and using intricate webs of finely etched lines to define their forms, bringing their individual features into relief. The figures, seen either cropped or floating in a void, convey a striking sense of emotional and formal abstraction. Whilst printmaking offer distinctly different approaches to painting, the artist embraces these unpredictabile outcomes of the etching plate.

'With an etching there's an element of danger and mystery. You don't know how it's going to come out. What's black is white. What's left is right' - Lucian Freud.

Lucian Freud's etching oeuvre, including 'Girl Holding Her Foot', showcases his special ability to capture the human form with unflinching honesty and depth. Through meticulous attention to detail and intimate engagement with his subjects, Freud's etchings go beyond portraiture. They convey the weight and presence of the sitters, revealing their inner essence and challenging conventional notions of beauty. His etchings, alongside his paintings, stand as powerful and evocative works of art that continue the profound exploration of the human form.

Hannah Ryan
Prints and Multiples Specialist

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