 |
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Portrait of Princess Margaret of Saxony
ca. 1510
oil on panel
Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin |
 |
Anonymous Venetian Artist
Portrait of Two Young Men
ca. 1510
oil on canvas
Musée du Louvre |
 |
Altobello Melone
Portrait of a Man
ca. 1513
oil on panel
Accademia Carrara, Bergamo |
 |
Palma il Vecchio
Portrait of a Woman
ca. 1512-14
oil on panel
Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon |
 |
Domenico Puligo
Portrait of a Man
ca. 1510-20
oil on panel
Gemäldegalerie, Berlin |
 |
Anonymous Netherlandish Artist
Joan I of Navarre, Queen of France
ca. 1495-1506
oil on panel
(fragment of triptych)
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels |
 |
Anonymous Netherlandish Artist
Philip IV, King of France
("Philip the Fair")
ca. 1495-1506
oil on panel
(fragment of triptych)
Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels |
 |
Domenico Ghirlandaio
Portrait of a Young Man
ca. 1490
tempera on panel
Detroit Institute of Arts |
 |
Master of the Pala Sforzesca
Portrait of a Woman
ca. 1480-1520
drawing
Musée du Louvre |
 |
Andrea del Verrocchio
Bust of Giuliano de' Medici
ca. 1475-78
terracotta
National Gallery of Art, Washington DC |
 |
Bartolomeo Passarotti after Daniele da Volterra
Portrait of Michelangelo Buonarroti
ca. 1560
drawing
Musée du Louvre |
 |
follower of Michelangelo Buonarroti
Head of a Man
16th century
drawing
Musée du Louvre |
 |
Michelangelo Buonarroti
Head of a Woman
before 1564
drawing
Musée du Louvre |
 |
Charles Le Brun
Portrait Study for a Persian Princess
ca. 1660-61
drawing
(study for painting, The Tent of Darius)
Musée du Louvre |
 |
Michel Corneille the Younger
Study for the Portrait of a Lady
ca. 1704
drawing
Musée du Louvre |
 |
Anonymous Italian Artist
Old Man with Pilgrim's Flask
ca. 1650-60
oil on canvas
National Gallery, London |
from a letter written to a friend by the patron of a portrait in progress –
"You must not judge of my painter's abilities by the small sketch I inclose. I have desired him to give me a slight one; and have, perhaps, ruined even that by endeavouring to bring it nearer to what the picture now is, myself. It will give you a tolerable idea in most points, except the Pan, which has his face turned towards the front, and is not near so considerable. I chose to have this term introduced, not only as he carries my favourite reeds, but as he is the principal sylvan deity. The water nymph below has the word 'Stour' on the mouth of her urn; which, in some sort, rises at The Lessowes [the patron's estate]. On the scroll is 'Flumina amem sylvasque inglorius' [the woods and streams inglorious let me haunt], alluding to them both. The Pan, you will perhaps observe, hurts the simplicity of the picture – not much, as we have managed him; and the intention here is, I think, a balance."
"The dog on the other side is my faithful Lucy, which you perhaps remember; and who must be nearer the body than she perhaps would if we had more room. However, I believe, I shall cause her head to cut off that little cluster of angles, where the balustrade joints the base of the arch. The balustrade is an improvement we made the other day: it is, I think, a great one; not only as it give a symmetry or balance to the curtain of which you complained, but as it extends the area on which I stand, and shortens the length of this half-arch. The painter objected to a tree; I know not why; unless that we could introduce no stem without encroaching too much upon the landscape: but the reason he gave was, it would be an injury to the face. The console is an Apollo's head. The impost does not go further than the pilaster, which ends the corner, and here the drawing is erroneous. We are, I think, to have a carpet, though we know not well how to manage it."
"And now, I tell you the dimensions. The figure itself is three feet three inches and a half; the whole picture four feet eleven inches, by three feet two inches and three quarters. The colour of the gown, a sea-green; waistcoat and breeches, buff-colour; stockings white, or rather pearl-colour; curtain, a terra-sienna, or very rich reddish brown. I think the whole will have a good effect; but beseech you to send me your opinion directly. There are some things we can alter; but there are others we must not."
"You shall have one of the size you desire in the spring; but will you not calculate for some one place in your room? The painter takes very strong likenesses; is young; rather daring than delicate in his manner, though he paints well in enamel; good-natured; slovenly; would improve by application. Adieu!"
– William Shenstone (1714-1763), written 8 January 1760
