Blond Girl

From the 1980s onwards, Lucian Freud produced etchings of people who posed for him, either clothed or naked in his studio. His unusual approach involved working directly on the etching plate with the model in front of him, rather than relying on preparatory drawings. In this major print, Freud concentrates on depicting the woman’s face and body. By leaving the setting blank, Freud gives a greater sense of the shape and mass of the woman’s form, her position implying she is posed on a sofa or bed. This is one of numerous prints that Freud inscribed and presented to his close friend, the painter Frank Auerbach. After Freud’s death, Auerbach gave these etchings to The Courtauld.