The Head of Gerda Boehm

Private collection.

Canvas, oil.

In portraiture, Frank Auerbach does not set out to depict a person or reveal and show his feelings plausibly. The artist is more interested in the shape and structure of the object, its internal essence, which is expressed with the help of powerful and energetic strokes. Scraping and again increasing the volume on the surface, the artist accumulated the so-called “model experience”, gradually eliminating all that is unnecessary, superficial and secondary. This work is known for being acquired by famous British musician David Bowie and sold for € 3.8 million at auction after his death in 2016.