This statement by Ayn Rand is pertinent when discussing Lucien Freud--a brilliant and masterful artist, yet a deeply disturbed individual with deplorable ethics.
"The fact that one agrees or disagrees with an artist’s philosophy is irrelevant to an esthetic appraisal of his work qua art. One does not have to agree with an artist (nor even to enjoy him) in order to evaluate his work...Since art is a philosophical composite, it is not a contradiction to say: 'This is a great work of art, but I don’t like it,' provided one defines the exact meaning of that statement: the first part refers to a purely esthetic appraisal, the second to a deeper philosophical level which includes more than esthetic values."
-Ayn Rand, The Romantic Manifesto, p. 42
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