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| Lucas Cranach the Elder Portrait of Princess Margaret of Saxony ca. 1510 oil on panel Milwaukee Art Museum, Wisconsin |
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| Anonymous Venetian Artist Portrait of Two Young Men ca. 1510 oil on canvas Musée du Louvre |
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| Altobello Melone Portrait of a Man ca. 1513 oil on panel Accademia Carrara, Bergamo |
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| Palma il Vecchio Portrait of a Woman ca. 1512-14 oil on panel Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon |
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| Domenico Puligo Portrait of a Man ca. 1510-20 oil on panel Gemäldegalerie, Berlin |
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| 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 |
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| 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 |
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| Domenico Ghirlandaio Portrait of a Young Man ca. 1490 tempera on panel Detroit Institute of Arts |
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| Master of the Pala Sforzesca Portrait of a Woman ca. 1480-1520 drawing Musée du Louvre |
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| Andrea del Verrocchio Bust of Giuliano de' Medici ca. 1475-78 terracotta National Gallery of Art, Washington DC |
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| Bartolomeo Passarotti after Daniele da Volterra Portrait of Michelangelo Buonarroti ca. 1560 drawing Musée du Louvre |
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| follower of Michelangelo Buonarroti Head of a Man 16th century drawing Musée du Louvre |
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| Michelangelo Buonarroti Head of a Woman before 1564 drawing Musée du Louvre |
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| Charles Le Brun Portrait Study for a Persian Princess ca. 1660-61 drawing (study for painting, The Tent of Darius) Musée du Louvre |
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| Michel Corneille the Younger Study for the Portrait of a Lady ca. 1704 drawing Musée du Louvre |
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| 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