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Lucian Freud: Painted Life

Painted Life explores the life and work of Lucian Freud, undoubtedly one of Britain's greatest artists. Freud gave his full backing to the documentary shortly before his death. Uniquely, he was filmed painting his last work, a portrait of his assistant David Dawson. Lucian Freud: Painted Life also includes frank testimony from those who knew and loved this extraordinary personality. Members of his large family (he had at least fourteen children by a number of different women), close friends including David Hockney and Brigadier Andrew Parker Bowles, his dealers, his sitters and his former lovers recall for the first time a complex man who dedicated his life to his art and who always sought to transmute paint into a vibrant living representation of humanity. The film shows how Freud never swam with the flow and only achieved celebrity in older age. He rejected the artistic fashions of his time, sticking to figurative art and exploring portraiture, especially with regards to nude portraiture, which he explored with a depth of scrutiny that produced some of the greatest works of our time. This documentary is both a definitive biography and a revelatory exploration of the creative process.

English
  • Originally Aired February 18, 2012
  • Runtime 60 minutes
  • Content Rating United States of America TV-PG
  • Production Code b01cdhs5
  • Network BBC
  • Created November 7, 2019 by
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  • Modified November 7, 2019 by
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Name Type Role
Andrew Parker Bowles Guest Star
Lucian Freud Guest Star
David Hockney Guest Star
Randall Wright Director