Phoebe Hoban; author of definitive biographies of Jean-Michel Basquiat and Alice Neel; now turns her attention to Lucian Freud; the grandson of Sigmund and one of the greatest painters England has produced. Lucian Freud: Eyes Wide Open is the first biography to assess Freudrsquo;s work and life; showing how the two converge. In Hobanrsquo;s dramatic and fast-paced narrative; we follow Freud from his birthplace in Berlin to London; where he fled with his family in the 1930s; and then to Paris; where he mixed with Picasso and Giacometti. He led a dissolute life in Soho after the war; gambling and womanizing with fierce energy. He painted his wives nude; his children nude; himself nude. He married twice; had an uncountable number of children; and kept working through it all; painting everyone from close friend and rival Francis Bacon to Kate Moss and Queen Elizabeth. He sometimes spent years on a single painting; which could require hundreds of hours of sittings. However various his subjects; his intent was always the same: to find and reveal the character hidden within by means of his intense visual imagination.Along with its startling biographical revelations; the great thrill of Lucian Freud: Eyes Wide Open is the way Hoban deconstructs the art itselfmdash;its influences; models; and techniquemdash;to show how Freud reproduced reality on the canvas while breaking down the illusion that what we see is real.
#1908330 in eBooks 2013-09-05 2013-09-05File Name: B00FJYJM88
Review
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. stylish and thoughtful on many topicsBy suzanne e keilsonThis is not a nuts and bolts (pun intended) book about house rehabilitation. That much of a spoiler I can provide. Nowadays I try and decide if a book is "paper worthy" or if I will just download it on an ereader as an almost impulsive purchase that I can read once and move on and not feel guilty about environmental impace (or finding space on my shelves). My one regret is that I did buy this as an e-book and this is definitely a book that bears being on a bookshelf and repeat reading. The other concrete thing I would say; an interesting observation about e-books; is that at least on my old kindle; the impact of the lovely illustrations was quite diminished. I could not see the detail I would like and I could not increase image size or do the kind of easy flip back and forth and thoughtful gazing that images deserve. I liked this enought that I may go ahead and by the paperback as well. Here are some other things of note for me about this book. The writing style is so gently self-deprecating; sohpisticated; subtle humor. I am not sure how he achieves that effect; but I would love to be in his writing class to learn. I also loved the way he was able to "wander" off topic; bring in some historical; philosophical; sociological perspectives and then easily wend his way back to were the thread of the story left off. Some may not like this; but this is no simple "how to" but a real contemplation of meaning and purpose and even perhaps how we are all prisoners of our families of origin but can also learn to live and grow from that.1 of 1 people found the following review helpful. Great Story.. You must read it!By Rosy GalThis book was everything I thought it would be. I could not put it down! The author is a wonderful story teller. I found his journey restoring the "Queen Anne" very inspirational and motivating. I loved the illustrations; and how much depth he went into in telling about his relationship with not only his "girlfriend" (future wife) but also his relationships with friends and family. It was a very heartwarming story and reinforced one of my mothers favorite sayings when I was growing up "Never Say Die." It certainly was true in this case. His tenacity is incredible! I did not want the book to end.0 of 0 people found the following review helpful. A wonderful read!By Chip PostonThis is my favorite book by Ron Tanner. Deeply honest and self-revealing; it is also a wonderful narrative of a modern love story. In addition it is a humorous tutorial on Ron and Jills herculean efforts in restoring an old Queen Anne in Baltimore. It will inspire anyone who ever looked at a home improvement project large or small and wondered; "Could I fix this?" And Rons open sharing of his many mistakes-- in both relationships and home improvement-- makes it easier for us for forgive our own. I cant recommend it highly enough. Its also a great gift for the lovers and fixer-uppers in your life.