Diving into this web exhibition created by MoMA on the work of artist Lucian Freud without considering the title ("The Painter's Etchings") or reading the introductory texts can be a bit disorientating. One might ask, "Why are there so many oil paintings in a show of etchings?" The first sentence of the introduction makes it clear: "Lucian Freud is a painter who also makes etchings." The purpose of the exhibition is to present Freud's etchings alongside his paintings and drawings, in order to see the relationships between the works. For example, Freud's daughter, Bella, has been a frequent sitter for her father since the 1980s. In the show, there are 5 etchings and a painting of Bella, dating from 1981 to 1995. Each of these images of Bella can be selected and compared to the others. There is also audio for several of Freud's sitters, such as a short recording of art critic Martin Gayford, who posed for both a painting and an etching in the exhibition, comparing these experiences.
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