Jenny Saville – The Anatomy of Painting, National Portrait Gallery
Yesterday, I finally got to see Jenny Saville’s The Anatomy of Painting exhibition. I’ve been waiting so long for this - she’s been a huge influence on me for the last 25 years.
I first discovered her work when I was about 16 or 17, back in the late ’90s - Sensation in 1997, then Territories in 1999. Those shows blew my mind, and after that…I never saw her work in person again. 25 years is a long time. Walking into this exhibition felt like reuniting with an old friend I hadn’t seen in decades - someone who profoundly shaped my painting practice. It was emotional to the point of tears.
Some of my big takeaways:
The Scale. I forgot how monumental her work is - absolutely enormous canvases, stretcher bars two or three times the size of a “normal” painting. You don’t just look at them, you’re engulfed by them.
The Evolution. The exhibition is laid out almost chronologically, so you walk through time. You start with her Glasgow School of Art period - so recognisable if you know her early work - and then move into the Saatchi years, and beyond.
The Sweet Spot. For me, the second room was the sweet spot: when she started pushing into more abstract territory. The brush strokes become wild, expressive, almost primal. It felt like watching her break free.
Motherhood. Seeing the work she made around childbirth was incredibly moving. There’s a sensitivity and rawness that feels almost too intimate.
Drawing and Scale. So many large-scale drawings and charcoals I’d never seen before - studies the size of walls, not sketchbooks. She’s extending her vocabulary, using pastels, embracing more classical approaches.
Recent Work. The final room feels almost like a conversation with Willem de Kooning - primary colours straight from the tube, fearless mark-making, pure response. You feel her stripping everything back to the raw materials and instincts of painting itself.
It’s hard to describe just how powerful it was. It honestly felt like the best exhibition I’ve ever seen - on par with the Lucian Freud show, but in a different way. Monumental, uncompromising, completely alive.
And it was perfect to experience it with friends who really understand contemporary painting. We had the best day - an unforgettable day in London.
NPG: https://www.npg.org.uk/whatson/exhibitions/2025/jenny-saville/
