What a strange world Freud lived in! He lurks and looms and threatens. There are no smiles in his world, no human connections, no stories. Inside his studio, it’s airless and alienating as he dominates and menaces his sitters and us the viewers. After spending time with him, you might decide you don’t like Freud but believe me, you’ll have lots to think about.

All Too Human: Bacon, Freud and a Century of Painting Life at Tate Britain, 28th February to 27th August 2018

Billed as a landmark exhibition, All Too Human showcases how some of Britain’s most celebrated artists from Sickert and Spencer, via Auerbach and Kossoff, to Freud and Bacon, and newer female artists like Paula Rego and Jenny Saville, have captured life’s most intense experiences in paint. The trouble is that while there are many fine individual paintings on display, the thematic coherence of this show completely disappears from view under the sheer number of exhibits.