After Chardin - Lucian Freud
Archival giclée
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Description
A compelling reinterpretation of Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin by Lucian Freud, showcasing his signature heavy impasto and psychological depth.
Lucian Freud, a painter known for his unflinching examination of the human form, produced this work as a direct engagement with the eighteenth-century French master Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin. The composition draws inspiration from Chardin’s 'The Governess' or similar domestic scenes, yet Freud reinterprets the subject through his own distinct lens. Where Chardin sought a sense of quiet moral instruction and balanced composition, Freud introduces a heavier, more tactile application of paint. The figures are rendered with a physical presence that feels immediate and grounded in the material world.
Freud’s brushwork here avoids the smooth finish of the Rococo period. Instead, he employs a layered, impasto technique that gives the skin and clothing a tangible, almost sculptural quality. The muted palette of ochres, browns, and soft greys creates a sombre atmosphere, focusing the viewer on the interaction between the two figures. The child and the governess are captured in a moment of shared concentration, their features defined by the play of light and shadow across their faces. By choosing to revisit a historical master, Freud places his own practice within a long tradition of European figurative painting, while simultaneously asserting his preference for the raw, unidealised reality of his subjects.
The work demonstrates Freud’s ability to find psychological weight in domestic settings. He strips away the decorative artifice often associated with the original source material, leaving behind a study of human connection and physical presence. The focus remains on the density of the paint and the specific, idiosyncratic details of the sitters, which are hallmarks of Freud’s mature style. This print captures the texture of the original oil painting, allowing for a close inspection of the artist’s mark-making and the subtle tonal shifts that define the composition.
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Each print is produced to order using 12-colour giclée printing on FSC-certified archival paper. Designed in Britain and printed at your nearest production hub to reduce waste and speed up delivery.
Care and materials
Specific Features
Every Solis piece is made to order with archival, gallery-quality materials built to last.
- Museum-grade giclée printing for rich, fade-resistant colour
- Archival matte fine-art paper, FSC-certified
- Multiple sizes and framing options available
- Frames in black, natural wood, dark wood or white
- Framed prints arrive ready to hang
Care & Cleaning
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- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
- Avoid prolonged direct sunlight
- Never use liquid cleaners on the print or canvas surface
- Keep in a dry, room-temperature space
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Materials & Sizing
Museum-grade giclée on FSC-certified archival matte paper, with framed and canvas options.
- Paper sizes: A4, A3, A2, A1, A0 and B2 (50×70 cm)
- Canvas: XS (20×30 cm) to Large (60×90 cm)
- Frames: black, natural wood, dark wood or white
After Chardin - Lucian Freud
Artist Biography
Lucian Freud
He was Sigmund Freud's grandson. The family left Berlin for London in 1933, when Lucian was ten. He became a British citizen in 1939. The biographical connection to psychoanalysis is unavoidable and he resisted it throughout his career, though his paintings of naked bodies on beds and sofas, viewed from above in harsh overhead light, invite exactly the clinical reading he rejected.
His early work is tight, linear, almost Pre-Raphaelite in its precision: the portrait of Francis Bacon from 1952, Girl with a White Dog, Hotel Bedroom. The shift came in the late 1950s when he switched from sable brushes to hog-hair, thickened the paint, and began working on a larger scale. The flesh became heavier, more present, more uncomfortable to look at.
He painted everyone the same way. The Queen sat for him (the result was controversial). His studio assistant and bookmaker 'Big Sue' Tilley posed naked on a sofa; the painting sold for GBP33.6 million. His whippets appear repeatedly. He insisted on working from life, never photographs, and never took commissions. People came to him.
He worked every day until a few weeks before his death in 2011, at eighty-eight. His last painting was unfinished on the easel.
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