1148 – Distinctive Facial Features
Mona: How is the portrait coming along?
Leonardo: I’m done with the sketches and I’m ready to start on the painting.
Mona: This commission is quite a godsend for a new artist. If you do a good job with this portrait, you may get other commissions.
Leonardo: It’s all the same to me. I paint them as I see them.
Mona: Well, I hope not exactly as you see them. A portrait has to be flattering, doesn’t it?
Leonardo: You mean I should downplay bulging eyes, hooked noses, and double chins? No way. That’s what makes each face distinctive.
Mona: Maybe that isn’t the best way to think about it. Everybody has an image of themselves in their mind’s eye. You would just be capturing that image.
Leonardo: I’m an artist, not a psychologist. If they have squinty eyes, ears that stick out, a weak chin, or thin lips, that’s what I’m going to paint.
Mona: But this sketch shows a really prominent forehead and a receding hairline. Maybe you could just…
Leonardo: No! I have to be true to my art. I’m not compromising.
Mona: [sigh] I was just hoping you could finally make enough money to move off of my couch!