ABSTRACT
The skin has a prominent place in Lucian Freud’s work, notably in his representations of female nudes. To Freud, the skin is the principal means for expression of individuality, more important even than the face. With his pronounced presentation of the skin in his Naked Portraits he raises issues of individuality and identity in a modern society. This paper will trace the development of the skin, the rendering of surface and depth throughout Freud’s work. The translucent skins in his early paintings can be seen as an expression of inner feelings on the surface—seeing through the skin. Conversely, the heavy pastoso in hog brush technique in his later years presents a different illusion, shielding the inner world of the individual from the outside—“as dressed in paint”. This paper thus links his development as an artist to psychoanalytic concepts, such as Anzieu’s Skin-Ego as well as Britton’s and Rosenfeld’s thin—skinned and thick-skinned presentations, highlighting the importance of the skin in relation to trauma.
