Self-Portrait, Reflection 2004

Lucian Freud made this self-portrait with oil paint, trowelling it on, carving the features. The colours are muted, browns, yellows, oranges, all mixed up with the dark background. I can imagine Freud in front of the mirror, scrutinizing his own face. It’s like he’s excavating his own features. The paint is so thick, it's almost sculptural. Look at the way he’s rendered the forehead, those deep furrows and folds. You can almost feel the weight of his gaze. And the eyes, shadowed and intense, staring back at himself. I imagine him thinking about Rembrandt and all the other self-portraits throughout art history. The gesture, the way he’s holding his face with his hand, communicates a sense of weariness, but also introspection. It feels like he’s in conversation with himself, trying to capture something essential. Painting is like that, a dialogue between the artist and the subject, a search for truth that’s never quite finished.