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| Woutherus Mol Self Portrait ca. 1810-20 drawing Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam |
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| Woutherus Mol Self Portrait ca. 1810-20 pastel Teylers Museum, Haarlem |
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| Francisco Goya General José Manuel Romero ca. 1810 oil on canvas Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Thomas Stothard Painters Benjamin West, John Opie and Benjamin Robert Haydon before 1807 oil on board Dove Cottage, Grasmere, Cumbria |
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| Domenico Zeni Prince-Bishop Emanuele Maria Thun 1807 oil on canvas Palazzo Pretorio, Trento |
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| Francisco Goya Doña Amalia Bonells de Costa ca. 1805 oil on canvas Detroit Institute of Arts |
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| John Hoppner The Honourable Arthur Paget ca. 1804 oil on canvas National Trust, Plas Newydd, Wales |
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| Thomas Lawrence Portrait of Mrs Jens Wolff ca. 1803-1815 oil on canvas Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Samuel De Wilde Thomas Collins as Slender in The Merry Wives of Windsor ca. 1802 oil on canvas Holburne Museum, Bath |
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| Francisco Goya Portrait of Andrés del Peral 1798 oil on panel National Gallery, London |
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| Giovanni Battista Gigola Portrait of Francesca Ghirardi Lechi ca. 1795-1805 watercolor on ivory Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York |
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| William Beechey Portrait of Thomas Law Hodges ca. 1795 oil on canvas Tate Britain |
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| Jacques-Louis David Portrait of Jacobus Blauw 1795 oil on canvas National Gallery, London |
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| Francisco Goya José Álvarez de Toledo, Duke of Alba ca. 1795 oil on canvas Art Institute of Chicago |
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| Jean-Louis Laneuville Portrait of Louis Legendre ca. 1795 oil on canvas Musée Carnavalet, Paris |
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| Thomas Lawrence Catherine Gray, Lady Manners 1794 oil on canvas Cincinnati Museum of Art, Ohio |
Points That Should Be Observed Before You Begin To Paint
You should always be ready half an hour before the model arrives. This helps to gather your thoughts and is essential for several reasons:
1. You should never keep anyone waiting.
2. The palette must be prepared.
3. People or business should not interfere with your concentration.
An Essential Rule
You must sit the model down, but at a higher level than yourself. Make sure that the women are comfortable, that they have something to lean against, and a stool beneath their feet.
You should be as far away from your model as possible; this is the only way to catch the true proportion of the features and their correct alignment, as well as the sitter's bearing and particular mannerisms which it is essential to note; the same applies when trying to achieve an overall likeness. Do we not recognise people we know from behind, even when we cannot see their faces?
When painting a man's portrait, especially that of a young man, he should stand up for a moment before you begin so that you can sketch the general outline of the body. If you were to sketch him sitting down, the body would not appear as elegant and the head would appear too close to the shoulders. This is particularly necessary for men since we are more used to seeing them standing than seated.
Do not paint the head too high on the canvas since it makes the model look too tall, though if you draw the head too low, the model will become too small; when drawing the body, take care to allow more space on the side to which the body is turned.
You should also have a mirror positioned behind you so that you can see both the model and your painting at the same time, and it should be in a place where you can refer to it all the time; it is the best guide and will show up faults clearly.
Before you begin, talk to your model. Try several different poses. Choose not only the most comfortable but also the most fitting for the person's age and character, so that the pose will only add to the likeness. Likewise for the head, which should either be facing forward or at a three-quarter turn; this adds to the resemblance, especially for the public; the mirror might also help you decide upon this point.
You should try and complete the head, or at least the basic stages, in three or four sittings; allow an hour and half for each sitting, two hours at the most, or the models will grow bored and impatient and their expression will change noticeably, a situation to be avoided at all costs; this is why you should allow models to rest and aim to keep their attention for as long as possible. My experience with women has led me to believe the following: you must flatter them, say they are beautiful, that they have fresh complexions, etc. This puts them in a good humour and they will hold their position more willingly. The reverse will result in a visible difference. You must also tell them that they are marvellous at posing; they will then try harder to hold their pose. Tell them not to bring their friends to the sitting, for they all want to give advice and will spoil everything, although you may consult artists and people of taste. Do not be discouraged if some people cannot find any likeness in your portraits; there are a great many people who do not know how to look at a painting.
– Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, from Advice on the Painting of Portraits (ca. 1820-30), translated by Siân Evans (1989)