ハンサムで魅力的だったフロイドは多くの女性と出会い、彼女たちとの間に30人もの子供がいたと言われています。（認知したのは14人）
フロイドが描くのは、実の子供たちや愛人、友人たちなど、彼が興味を持つ、ごく近しい人々。作業はゆっくりしていて、ものすごく時間をかけて細部を観察して描きました。絵画の歴史において、女性の肖像画は欠点を補うように若く描くのが常でしたが、フロイドはあえて醜く描きました。画家の執拗な観察により微細な欠点も白日の下に晒されたモデルは実際よりも老けて見えました。モデルたちは、しばしば「なぜルシアンは私を醜く描くのだろう」と戸惑ったといいます。
フロイドの祖父は、精神分析を創始したジーグムント・フロイト。祖父がベッドやソファーに患者を座らせて本人が明かそうとしない事実を引き出したように、ルシアンもベットやソファーにモデルを座らせて内面から滲み出る外観の特徴を微細に観察しリアルに表現しました。
この後ろ向きで横たわる女性はフロイドの実の娘アナベル（Annabel）。
まるで冬眠に入った動物のように深い眠り落ちている後ろ姿は、痛々しく精神的な救いを求めているように見えます。閉ざされた彼女の内面は、丸い背中をおおう青いガウンのしわの陰影に見事に表現されています。
唯一あらわなゴツゴツした男のような「足の裏」は、彼女の内面から露出した異物のようです。
フロイドは、しばしば脇役（手や足）を主役（顔）のように描き、脇役に圧倒的な存在感を持たせましたが、この絵は主役が不在で足の裏が主役の代わりを演じます。
絵画の中のヒエラルキー（主役、脇役等）を壊す非常識も彼の専売特許です。
Lucian Freud, who was handsome and charismatic, is said to have had encounters with many women, and it's believed that he fathered as many as 30 children (though he officially recognized 14 of them).
The subjects of Freud's paintings were often those closest to him: his own children, lovers, friends, and anyone who piqued his interest. His working style was slow, taking an immense amount of time to observe details meticulously. Historically in art, portraits of women were often painted to make them look younger and hide their flaws. However, Freud deliberately painted them in an unflattering manner. Due to the artist's relentless observation, the models often appeared older, with every minor flaw illuminated. It was often said by the models, "Why does Lucian paint me so unattractively?"
Lucian Freud's grandfather was the founder of psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud. Just as Sigmund made his patients sit on a bed or couch to delve into truths they were reluctant to reveal, Lucian also placed his models on beds or sofas, keenly observing and depicting the outward characteristics stemming from their inner selves.
The woman lying on her back in this painting is Freud's biological daughter, Annabel. Her reclining figure, seemingly in a deep, hibernation-like sleep, looks as if she is in pain and seeking psychological relief. Her closed-off inner world is brilliantly expressed in the shadows of the blue gown covering her rounded back. The only exposed part of her - the rough, almost masculine soles of her feet - appear as foreign objects revealing her inner self.
Freud often painted what might be considered secondary features, like hands or feet, with as much importance as primary ones, like the face. In this painting, with no evident main subject, the soles of the feet take center stage.
Breaking the conventional hierarchy in art, where certain elements take precedence over others, was a hallmark of Freud's style.