Lucian Freud: The Self-portraits, Royal Academy

Lucian Freud was a ruthless artist: his unflinching gaze, his analytic scrutiny of anatomy and psychology, and his 'purely autobiographical' approach to portraiture have earned him a callous reputation and worldwide recognition. One of the most pioneering artists of the twentieth century, Freud carved a new path for figurative painting and figurative portraiture.

During his lifetime Freud painted a prolific number of portraits, but only a select handful of sitters: friends, family, wives, mistresses and the artist himself grace his canvases. His portraits are unforgiving. His portrayal of aging is uncomfortable. He penetrates the souls of his sitters, and lays their flaws, their crevices and their rolls of flesh bare. The psychic intensity of his portraits engulfs you. But stare for long enough, and voyeur you become. As the art critic Martin Gayford once said: 'each portrait reflects both the personality of the subject as much as Freud's personality, capturing something unique seen by someone unique'.

In a world first, the Royal Academy of Arts brings together more than 50 paintings, prints and drawings in which the modern master turns his voyeuristic eye onto himself. This exhibition of self-portraits, spanning seven decades, traces Freud's artistic development, from the linear graphic works of his early career to the fleshier, fuller portraits of late. This magnanimous body of work paints a brutally honest portrait of aging, and offers an unparalleled insight into Freud's self-image.