Annie and Alice 1975

Lucian Freud made 'Annie and Alice', with oil on canvas, sometime in his career. The brushstrokes are very present here, almost scrubbing at the surface, creating a real sense of the labor and process of painting. It's like he's trying to build these figures out of pure, raw material. The texture is palpable; you can almost feel the grit of the paint. Look at the way the light hits their skin – it's not smooth or idealized, but honest and unflinching. The palette is muted, earthy tones, which feels very grounded, very real. There's a sense of vulnerability and intimacy in the way Freud captures these women, intertwined on the bed. Notice how the lines aren't perfectly defined; instead, the figures seem to emerge from a haze of color. The figures overlap one another, creating a complex composition. Freud’s work reminds me of Paula Modersohn-Becker. They both have this raw, unflinching way of portraying the human form. I love the way Freud embraces imperfection and ambiguity, inviting us to find our own meaning in his work.