← Collection
Head of an Irishman

Head of an Irishman

Lucian Freud
British, born Germany. 1922–2011
1999
An etching in which Lucian Freud renders a seated Irishman's head with dense, carved lines and stark tonal contrasts, aiming to reveal the sitter's physical presence and inner life.
Up close the plate's cross-hatched strokes, heavy shadows and sudden white highlights read like skin mapped by light, making the face feel both sculptural and vulnerably alive.
A late work in Freud's printmaking, it translates his thick, tactile painting style to etching and helped extend his uncompromising psychological realism into the medium of prints.
Medium
Etching
Dimensions
plate: 29 1/4 x 22 1/4" (74.3 x 56.5 cm); sheet: 38 1/4 x 30 3/4" (97.2 x 78.1 cm)
Classification
Department
Credit
Monroe Wheeler Fund
Accession
282.2007
Palette
Art Terms
Exhibitions
View on moma.org ↗

Semantic Neighborhood

Close Near Wide Far

Panoramic – 32 works spanning the embedding landscape

press T

Keyboard Shortcuts

S Cycle source (semantic/color/artist/...)
P Toggle Sources column
V Cycle center mode (viewer/browser/split)
I Toggle Inspector column
\ Swap split direction
T Toggle toolbar
C Toggle palette strips
Shift+C Sort by color similarity
Shift+H Immersive mode (viewer only)
1-5 Set thumbnail size
? Toggle this help

Column shortcuts require ultrawide (2xl+) viewport

Very Similar

> 65%
Large Head 87%

Large Head

Lucian Freud

1993

Large Head 87% Lucian Freud 1993 Etching Print Drawings & Prints plate: 27 5/16 x 21 1/2" (6... British 713.1995
Head of an Irish Man 87%

Head of an Irish Man

Lucian Freud

1999

Head of an Irish Man 87% Lucian Freud 1999 Copper plate Print Drawings & Prints overall: 29 5/16 x 22 5/16"... British 283.2007
Head of a Girl I 84%

Head of a Girl I

Lucian Freud

1982

Head of a Girl I 84% Lucian Freud 1982 Etching Print Drawings & Prints plate: 4 1/2 x 4 9/16" (11... British 551.1983
Man Posing 83%

Man Posing

Lucian Freud

1985, published 1986

Man Posing 83% Lucian Freud 1985, published 1986 Etching Print Drawings & Prints plate: 27 3/8 x 21 7/16" (... British 463.1992
Solicitor's Head 81%

Solicitor's Head

Lucian Freud

2003

Solicitor's Head 81% Lucian Freud 2003 Etching Print Drawings & Prints plate: 14 7/16 x 10 15/16" ... British 420.2004
Four Figures 79%

Four Figures

Lucian Freud

1991

Four Figures 79% Lucian Freud 1991 Etching Print Drawings & Prints plate: 23 7/16 x 31 7/16" (... British 221.2002
Bella 78%

Bella

Lucian Freud

1982

Bella 78% Lucian Freud 1982 Etching Print Drawings & Prints plate: 6 x 7" (15.2 x 17.8 ... British 281.2007
Head of a Man 78%

Head of a Man

Lucian Freud

1986

Head of a Man 78% Lucian Freud 1986 Charcoal on paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 25 3/8 x 18 5/8" (64.4 x 47... British 36.1988
Girl Sitting 78%

Girl Sitting

Lucian Freud

1987

Girl Sitting 78% Lucian Freud 1987 Etching Print Drawings & Prints plate: 20 13/16 x 27 9/16" ... British 169.1988
Head and Shoulders of a Girl 78%

Head and Shoulders of a Girl

Lucian Freud

1990

Head and Shoulders of a Girl 78% Lucian Freud 1990 Etching Print Drawings & Prints plate: 27 3/16 x 21 7/16" ... British 146.1994
Untitled 76%

Untitled

Lucian Freud

1974

Untitled 76% Lucian Freud 1974 Colored ink on paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 10 x 7 1/8" (25.4 x 18.1 cm) British 1771.2012
Eli 76%

Eli

Lucian Freud

2002

Eli 76% Lucian Freud 2002 Etching Print Drawings & Prints plate: 26 × 33 1/2" (66 × 8... British 785.2022
Lucian Freud 76%

Lucian Freud

Frank Auerbach

1981

Lucian Freud 76% Frank Auerbach 1981 Etching and aquatint Print Drawings & Prints plate: 6 x 5 7/16" (15.2 x ... British 116.1982
Woman with an Arm Tattoo 74%

Woman with an Arm Tattoo

Lucian Freud

1996

Woman with an Arm Tattoo 74% Lucian Freud 1996 Etching Print Drawings & Prints plate: 23 3/8 x 32 1/8" (59... British 223.2002
Portrait of a Woman 72%

Portrait of a Woman

Lucian Freud

1949

Portrait of a Woman 72% Lucian Freud 1949 Oil on canvas Painting Painting & Sculpture 16 1/8 x 12" (41 x 30.5 cm) British 546.1954
Girl with Leaves 66%

Girl with Leaves

Lucian Freud

1948

Girl with Leaves 66% Lucian Freud 1948 Pastel on gray paper Drawing Drawings & Prints 18 7/8 x 16 1/2" (47.9 x 41... British 240.1948

Related

45 – 65%
Woman with a Daffodil 63%

Woman with a Daffodil

Lucian Freud

summer 1945

Woman with a Daffodil 63% Lucian Freud summer 1945 Oil on board on canvas Painting Painting & Sculpture 9 3/8 x 5 5/8" (23.8 x 14.3... British 12.1953
Seated Man 56%

Seated Man

Leon Golub

1965

Seated Man 56% Leon Golub 1965 Lithograph Print Drawings & Prints composition (irreg.): 29 15... American 1690.1967
No. 398 56%

No. 398

Lucebert

(1971)

No. 398 56% Lucebert (1971) Etching Print Drawings & Prints Dutch 21.1973
Portrait of Dr. Löffler, Seated I (Upright) (Bildnis Dr. Löffler, sitzend I [aufrecht]) 56%

Portrait of Dr. Löffler, Seated I (Upright) (Bildnis Dr. ...

Otto Dix

1949

Portrait of Dr. Löffler, Seated I (Upright) (Bildnis Dr. ... 56% Otto Dix 1949 Lithograph Print Drawings & Prints composition (irreg.): 15 7/... German 281.1964
Professor Freud gewidmet (plate, folio 65) from Ecce Homo 55%

Professor Freud gewidmet (plate, folio 65) from Ecce Homo

George Grosz

1922–23 (original executed in 1922)

Professor Freud gewidmet (plate, folio 65) from Ecce Homo 55% George Grosz 1922–23 (original executed in 1922) One from an illustrated book with 100... Illustrated Book Drawings & Prints composition (irreg.): 11 1/... American 854.1964.95
Portrait of Elise (Porträt Elise) from the series "Heads." 17 Etchings ("Köpfe." 17 Radierungen) 55%

Portrait of Elise (Porträt Elise) from the series "Heads....

Ludwig Meidner

(1921, published 1922)

Portrait of Elise (Porträt Elise) from the series "Heads.... 55% Ludwig Meidner (1921, published 1922) Etching Print Drawings & Prints plate: 8 15/16 x 8 1/16" (2... German 298.1994
Portrait of Raoul Hausmann (Bildnis Raoul Hausmann) 55%

Portrait of Raoul Hausmann (Bildnis Raoul Hausmann)

Ludwig Meidner

1914

Portrait of Raoul Hausmann (Bildnis Raoul Hausmann) 55% Ludwig Meidner 1914 Lithograph Print Drawings & Prints composition (irreg.): 16 1/... German 337.1947
Head of a Woman 54%

Head of a Woman

Isidora Aschheim

1952

Head of a Woman 54% Isidora Aschheim 1952 Lithograph Print Drawings & Prints composition: 12 13/16 x 14 ... Israeli 561.1954
Untitled 54%

Untitled

Franz Hitzler

1979

Untitled 54% Franz Hitzler 1979 Etching and aquatint Print Drawings & Prints plate 23 3/8 x 17 3/16" (5... German 592.1980
Seated Nude 54%

Seated Nude

Georges Rouault

1910

Seated Nude 54% Georges Rouault 1910 Etching Print Drawings & Prints Plate: 5 13/16 x 3 1/2" (14... French 302.1952
One 53%

One

Elias Friedensohn

1962

One 53% Elias Friedensohn 1962 Lithograph Print Drawings & Prints composition (irreg.): 13 11... American 856.1967
Loeb: Regards sur la peinture 53%

Loeb: Regards sur la peinture

Alberto Giacometti

(1950)

Loeb: Regards sur la peinture 53% Alberto Giacometti (1950) Etching Print Drawings & Prints sheet: 7 5/8 x 5 7/16" (19.... Swiss 236.1951.3
Sitting Figure 53%

Sitting Figure

William Brice

1962

Sitting Figure 53% William Brice 1962 Lithograph Print Drawings & Prints composition (irreg.): 27 15... American 819.1967
Head of Londa II (Kopf Londa II) (plate, loose leaf) from the periodical Das Kunstblatt, vol. 2, no. 1 (Jan 1918) 53%

Head of Londa II (Kopf Londa II) (plate, loose leaf) from...

Conrad Felixmüller

1918 (executed 1917)

Head of Londa II (Kopf Londa II) (plate, loose leaf) from... 53% Conrad Felixmüller 1918 (executed 1917) Lithograph Print Drawings & Prints composition (irreg.): 7 11/... German 649.1949
Hermit 53%

Hermit

Ernst Fuchs

1949

Hermit 53% Ernst Fuchs 1949 Etching Print Drawings & Prints plate 12 x 5 1/2" (30.5 x ... Austrian 174.1986
Fernand Fleuret 52%

Fernand Fleuret

Raoul Dufy

(c. 1930)

Fernand Fleuret 52% Raoul Dufy (c. 1930) Etching Print Drawings & Prints composition: 10 1/16 x 8 7/... French 382.1951