I liked this early Self-portrait with Hyacinth from 1948 made on paper through painstaking use of pencil and crayon. The draughtsmanship is impressive and the stylistic influence of Cedric Morris, an early tutor, is clear to see.

It was interesting hear the curator, Daniel Hermann, talk about this show at the press preview. By all accounts Freud was an unashamedly selfish man who put his art and his focus on work above all relationships. He had many lovers and several of them have been immortalised in his paintings, but they would always be dropped or fade away while the commitment to painting prevailed.

Above is Girl with Roses. It’s a portrait of Freud’s first wife, Kathleen (Kitty) Garman. Freud has created a very gorgeous surface of paint through many thin layers and careful detailing. You can see the reflection of the sash windows in the studio space reflected in her eyes.

Above is Hotel Bedroom painted in 1954. The woman in the bed is Lady Caroline Blackwood, his then wife. Apparently the pair collaborated on the creation of the piece with lengthy poses, arrangements of the composition and a shared investment in the atmosphere of the piece. It smacks of the end of a relationship but it’s still ambiguous and hard to read.

Above is a self-portrait studiedly left unfinished, so that we, the viewer can admire the finished painted part but also read the whole story, and where the artist could have gone, but didn’t feel the need to go.

As the decades wear on Freud completely changes his style. Gone are the thin layers of paint and tiny, detailed brushstrokes. We start seeing monumental paintings made with impasto paint, thickly applied with broad, bristle brushes and bold lines. So begins a series of nudes (Freud often nude himself) using curious angles and perspectives.

There are several familiar paintings in this show and quite a few which have not been viewed before. I was interested to see this early painting (below) entitled The Refugees which seems primitive but is deftly made. This group of curious men and women, oddly dressed all stare directly out at us. We, the viewer, can provide the narrative.

This watercolour portrait of Freud’s mother, late in her life, shows a woman of intense intelligence and resolution. It’s one of Freud’s later works and interesting to see the tenderness in the image through use of a different medium.

Lucien Freud, New Perspectives is at the National Gallery until 23rd January 2023.