Personal Reflection on Smoking and Lucian Freud's 'Boy Smoking' at The Hague's Kunstmuseum Exhibition

A personal essay by Lena van Tijen reflects on smoking addiction while viewing Lucian Freud's painting 'Boy Smoking' at the 'London Calling' exhibition at the Kunstmuseum in The Hague. The author documents a three-month period from January to March tracking cigarette usage, noting 194.5 cigarettes smoked. The essay connects personal experiences with smoking after relationship breakdowns to Freud's artwork, which depicts a young man smoking. The painting is displayed alongside other works by Freud including 'Naked Portrait' (1972–73) and 'David and Eli' (2003–04), as well as pieces by Paula Rego, David Hockney, and Francis Bacon. The author observes that Freud's painting presents smoking as creating distance rather than intimacy, contrasting with the nude figures in surrounding works. The exhibition features loans from Tate, with Freud's painting bequeathed by Simon Sainsbury in 2006. The personal narrative explores how art can illuminate personal struggles with addiction.