The Head of Leon Kossoff

Private collection.

Board, oil.

In his early canvases, the artist often depicted his comrade, Leon Kossoff, an artist with whom he shared the London studio. Auerbach painted the face of his model very schematically, expressing his features with rough and sharp strokes. The head of the young artist is made in dark grayish tones and occupies almost the entire surface of the canvas, leaving no room for the background. By his admission, the monochrome and dark colour palette that he used during that period does not mean his attitude or colour predilections; he simply did not have enough money for paints of more rich bright colours.