Chloe Nelkin visits the exhibition Lucian Freud Portraits at The National Portrait Gallery, London, on view through May 27, 2012.

Nelkin writes that "a biographical approach is inevitable when discussing Freud… but, here, you must just look and revel in the opportunity that is being afforded you and give his work the close attention it deserves. It is an intimate exhibition and the scale of some of the smaller rooms is intended to mimic the scale of his studio… This is a living exhibition; Freud's paintings allow us to see the real people behind the paint with human frailty at its most magnified.