A Century of The Ego and the Id

A Century of The Ego and the Id

We celebrate the centenary of the publication of Freud’s famous work The Ego and the Id with an interactive mini-exhibition exploring visual metaphors behind the id, ego and superego – concepts that have become household names.

It will be an opportunity to delve a little deeper into the Freudian universe while reclining on a perfect replica of Freud’s famous psychoanalytic couch – coming to us straight from the set of a new film Freud’s Last Session (2023) starring Sir Anthony Hopkins, Liv Lisa Fries and Matthew Goode.

Through rarely seen objects and photographs from the family archive, we will also offer a glimpse into Berggasse 19 in Vienna – Freud’s home for 47 years before he and his family fled Nazi-Occupied Austria to come to London.

The exhibition is curated by Emilia Raczkowska and Daniel Bento.

We are grateful to The Circles of Art and to Lord David Freud for their kind support in making this mini-exhibition possible.

Set Designs and Props from Freud's Last Session

Freud’s Last Session

Starring Sir Anthony Hopkins (Sigmund Freud), Matthew Goode (C.S.Lewis) and Liv Lisa Fries (Anna Freud), Freud’s Last Session centres around an imagined meeting at Maresfield Gardens, now the Freud Museum London, between Freud and children’s author C.S. Lewis. As the pair challenge each other over science, religion, faith and the existence of God, the film explores Freud’s relationship with his daughter Anna and Lewis’s unconventional romance with his best friend’s mother. Interweaving the past, present and fantasy, the film bursts from the confines of Freud’s study on a dynamic journey.

Luciana Arrighi

As the film opens in the UK, we are delighted to have production designs, props and material from the film on display. Among the highlights of the display is a series of ten beautiful hand-drawn set designs created for the film by production designer Luciana Arrighi, who won the Academy Award for Best Production Design for her work on Howards End and whose recent credits include The Catcher Was A Spy, Can You Hear Me and Mrs Harris Goes To Paris.

A full replica of Freud’s London home was created in Dublin especially for the film and Luciana Arrighi’s pencil sketches include detailed designs for Freud’s study and imaginative takes on his garden, as well as the interior of C.S. Lewis’s home.

Including rarely seen objects and photographs from the Freud family archive, as well as narration by Liv Lisa Fries (Anna Freud in the film), the display invites visitors to contemplate the life and work of Freud on the film’s perfect replica of the consulting couch used in his consulting rooms in Vienna and London.

A Century of The Ego and the Id Press Coverage

Chance to recline on replica of Freud’s psychoanalytic couch – BBC London

Anthony Hopkins film prop couch at Freud Museum– This is Local London