Annabel Sleeping 1988

Lucian Freud painted "Annabel Sleeping" with oil on canvas. It's a small painting, but feels monumental with the paint thickly applied. The color is muted, fleshy tones, blues, and creams. You can see the brushstrokes swirling around, building up into a textured surface. I imagine Freud agonizing over every stroke, trying to capture the weight and form of the sleeping figure. He probably repainted passages over and over, chasing after something real but also felt. Look at those feet! They're so raw and vulnerable. Each toe is rendered with such care and precision. It’s like he’s trying to understand her, bit by bit. Freud’s work reminds me of other painters like Auerbach, Kossoff, and Bomberg, who were all obsessed with the materiality of paint. They all had this intense desire to create something solid and real out of thin air, leaving behind an artifact that vibrates with the artist’s process.