Reflection with Two Children (Self-Portrait) - Lucian Freud
Archival giclée
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Description
A 1965 self-portrait by Lucian Freud, featuring the artist reflected in a mirror alongside two of his children, rendered in his characteristic, unflinching style.
Lucian Freud painted Reflection with Two Children (Self-Portrait) in 1965. This work captures the artist in a mirror, presenting a low-angle perspective that distorts his physical presence. The composition places Freud in the centre, his figure looming over the viewer, while two children appear at the bottom edge of the frame. The muted, earthy palette of grey, olive, and ochre tones creates a somber atmosphere, typical of Freud's mid-career output.
Freud is known for his rigorous approach to the human form. In this painting, he applies paint with a deliberate, tactile quality, focusing on the texture of his suit and the specific contours of his facial features. The mirror reflection serves as a device to explore self-perception and the relationship between the painter and his subjects. The inclusion of the children, who are his own, adds a layer of domestic reality to the otherwise detached and clinical observation of his own image.
The work avoids idealisation. Freud presents himself with a heavy, almost confrontational gaze, his posture slightly hunched. The light source, visible as a circular fixture behind him, provides a stark contrast to the shadows cast across his face and clothing. This painting demonstrates his focus on the physical reality of his subjects, treating skin, fabric, and space with equal attention. The lack of background detail keeps the focus entirely on the figures, forcing an engagement with the psychological weight of the scene. It remains a significant example of his ability to transform a personal moment into a study of form and presence.
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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.
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Specific Features
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- 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
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- Dust gently with a soft, dry cloth
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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
Reflection with Two Children (Self-Portrait) - 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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