Jenny Saville The Anatomy of Painting

by John Elderfield (Contributor), Andrea Karnes (Contributor), Roxanne Gay (Contributor)

The British artist Jenny Saville is one of today’s leading painters, for whom painting the human body gives the artist ‘the possibility to work in both an abstract and figurative way’. Jenny Saville: The Anatomy of Painting showcases works ranging from Saville’s early monumental nudes, through her anatomical explorations to her beautiful multi-layered drawings and paintings of groups, and more recent ultra-saturated paintings influenced by the visual language of digital space.

Essays consider the development of Saville’s practice, marking key moments and the strong connection she makes to art history, while a conversation with the artist gives us a glimpse into her life in the studio, her working methods and inspiration.

Genres: Art

208 pages, Hardcover

Published June 12, 2025

About the author

John Elderfield (25 April 1943 - ) was Chief Curator of Painting and Sculpture at the Museum of Modern Art, New York, from 2003 to 2008.

Elderfield studied the history of art at the University of Manchester and the University of Leeds. He received his PhD from the Courtauld Institute of Art in 1975.

Elderfield received the award of Chevalier des Arts et des Lettres from the French Government.

Reviews

[Andrea Engle]

This absolute explosion of color serves as the catalogue for the eponymous exhibit at London’s National Portrait Gallery from June 20th to September 7th, 2025. The exhibit also appeared at The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth, Texas, from October 12th, 2025 to January 18th, 2026. In addition to lush, full-page reproductions of Saville’s magnificent canvases, this volume features five insightful essays (including a superlative essay by Roxane Gay on “Unabashed, Abundant Bodies”) and one, well-thought-out Conversation with the artist. Initially influenced by Lucian Freud and Francis Bacon, Jenny Saville brings a unique, feminist approach to the perception of the fleshy, burgeoning human body … overwhelmingly and absolutely stellar …

Roxane Gay
Lucian Freud

[A]

When there were faces on the cover of a book or magazine, I would always cover them with other books or magazines, or even pieces of paper, so they couldn't stare at me. Jenny Saville's haunting faces fall into this category. There is a "can't look away" quality to her work, something so compelling that you stare and want to look away at the same time.

There is no doubt that Saville is a master. Her drawings and brush strokes show a thoughtful, practiced hand. The catalogue reveals her views on other artists from Willem de Kooning and Jasper Johns to Frances Bacon an Lucien Freud, among others. Saville has absorbed what she has observed into an emotion which she passionately conveys through her work. It is heady stuff.

[Andrew Mash]

The work is stunning. I thought I knew what to expect when I went to the exhibition. I got that and so much more. Ms. Saville can draw. I mean really draw, draw like Michelangelo or da Vinci drew. The scale and quality is mind blowing in a good way. The catalogue has all the works and some interesting essays once you get past the pretentious, pseudophilosphical art history waffle. that's the only reason for four stars and not five.

[Olivia Nahmias]

*5 stars*
Literally obsessed. Cannot get enough of her work!