For more than a year, between July 1981 and October 1982, Baron Thyssen posed for Lucian Freud in the artist’s Holland Park studio; interminable sessions during which the painter and collector discussed their favourite subject, namely the history of painting, leading them to form a close bond. The result of these sessions was the painting that is the subject of the November edition of Focus on the work, one of four by Freud in the museum’s collection.

Paloma Alarcó is Chief Curator of Modern Painting at the museum and curator of the exhibition Lucian Freud. New perspectives, organised in collaboration with the National Gallery, London, to mark the artist’s centenary and opening at the Museo Thyssen in February 2023. For this November’s activity she will be discussing the painting, sharing ideas and interpretations with participants regarding the work and its creator.