Stay informed with free updates
Simply register at Life and arts myFT Digest – Delivered straight to your inbox.
His art was the other interesting thing about him. Frank Auerbach, the painter who died on Nov. 11, laid splotches of color upon embedded splotches of color until his work was literally heavy. (A canvas of his took as much effort to lift as a larger one made by someone else.) Because super-thick impasto is such a cliché today (something hotel chains put on their walls), it’s hard to understand how polarizing it still was today. mid-20th century. This, plus Auerbach’s excusable indifference to the world outside the Primrose Hill to Islington corridor, cost him. It was not until the second half of his life that he gained commercial and critical recognition as one of Europe’s most important artists.
So what could be more interesting than such a job? Your personal lack of introspection. Because no one had more reasons to be introspective. As a child, Auerbach was sent to Britain from Nazi Berlin by his Jewish parents, whom he would never see again. When asked about this experience, he would offer the following. “I just kept going.” “Life is too short.” “I’ve done something that psychiatrists disapprove of, which is blocking things.” “There has never been a time in my life where I felt like I wish I had parents.” “I’m not given to self-analysis.” When critics said his art was “surely” the expression of some inner turmoil, he emphasized how much fun it was to make.
There is one point that needs to be constantly remembered in metropolitan circles. Most people go through life without reflecting much on their inner state. This behavior is not only compatible with a functional life, but also with a successful and happy one. It need not suggest “repression” (although in some cases it does) but rather a genuine lack of interest in the subject of oneself. Believing otherwise is something that has come to set educated liberals apart from much of the rest of society. (And from quite a few educated liberals).
It could also distinguish the West from what it is now polite to call non-West. According to the World Health Organization, in the former there are many more “psychologists working in the mental health sector per 100,000 people.” And this cannot be attributed solely to resources. In countries as wealthy as Qatar, the United Arab Emirates, South Korea and Japan, the number is three or less. In Western countries, there are dozens and sometimes more than 100. Perhaps the Western approach is better. Perhaps it has deep philosophical roots: in the centrality of the individual since Socrates, it doesn’t matter since Jesus, it doesn’t matter since Descartes. but is a difference. The North Atlantic world, as its influence on global events declines, will have to get to know how other regions think. One finding could be a very different attitude towards oneself. Don’t assume that “British repression” is the outlier among nations.
Of all the discoveries I made in my rise up the social pole (that microwave ovens are rubbish, that it is “the south of France” and not “the south of France”), the most surprising was the intense bourgeois belief in power of self-examination. , either alone or in the presence of a paid professional. (And this was Britain. Imagine the same social climb to the American upper middle class.) I don’t doubt that he does good things for people. I’m just afraid that some of them think it is, or should be, universal. Many people now don’t date or befriend those who “don’t work on themselves.” That’s a lot more pool than you think, friend.
Having attended three different Auerbach exhibitions in 2024 (the best of which is still on display at the Offer Waterman gallery in Mayfair), I qualify as an admirer of the work. But the personality behind it is no less striking. In the typical interview with Auerbach, the journalist struggled to locate his demons while the artist, without a hint of rudeness, and indeed with a certain bonhomie, suggested that the wild goose was not worth chasing. At times in his life, it was his work that was very out of line with the times. In the end, it could have been the man himself.
Email Janan at janan.ganesh@ft.com
Discover our latest stories first: follow FTWeekend on instagram and unknownand subscribe to our podcast Life and art wherever you listen