Lucian Freud
Girl Holding Her Foot
1985Lucian Freud, Girl Holding Her Foot, 1985
Diana and Actaeon and Diana and Callisto have now been continuously on public view for sixty-three years. In this time, millions of visitors have seen them and drawn inspiration. Their relevance for the artists, writers and art-lovers of today is as strong as in the decades following their creation. In 2001, the artist Lucian Freud wrote of Titian’s two Diana paintings, ‘When I first saw these Titians I was so affected by the navel of the nymph Callisto that I repainted the stomach of a naked portrait I was doing at the time… To me, these are simply the most beautiful pictures in the world. Once you've seen them, you want to see them again and again.’
- Glossary (3 terms)
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Etching
A form of printmaking in which a metal plate is covered with a substance called a 'ground', usually wax, into which an image is drawn with a needle. Acid is applied, eroding the areas of the plate exposed but not the areas covered by wax. The action of the acid creates lines in the metal plate that hold the ink from which a print is made when the plate is pressed against paper under pressure.
Medium/ media
The material from which an artwork is made, e.g. oil paint, bronze, paper. 'Medium' is also used for the liquid element of paint in which a colouring agent is carried. 'Mixed media' is used when an artist combines several different materials in an artwork.
An image pressed or stamped onto paper or fabric. This encompasses a wide variety of techniques, usually produced in multiples, although one-off prints, known as monoprints, are also included. The term is also applied to photographic images.
- Glossary (2 terms)
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Figurative art
A general term for art that refers to the real, visible world, used more specifically for the representation of the human figure.
Surrealism
A literary and artistic movement founded by the poet André Breton in 1924. Many of the associated artists, such as Max Ernst and Jean Arp, had previously been involved with Dadaism. The movement sought to challenge conventions through the exploration of the subconscious mind, invoking the power of dreams and elements of chance. Cultural hierarchies were challenged by the combination of diverse elements in collages and sculptural assemblages. The movement is also notable for the collaborations between artists and writers evident in the Surrealists' many publications.
- Credits Purchased with aid from the Patrons of the National Galleries of Scotland, 1995
- Medium Etching on paper
- Size 69.00 x 54.00 cm (paper 89.00 x 72.00 cm)
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