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Jean-Étienne Liotard (1702-1789), Portrait of Marthe Marie Tronchin, 1758-1761, Swiss. Pastel on vellum. 61 x 47 cm. Courtesy of The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (http://www.artic.edu/aic); Clarence Buckingham Collection, 1985.252. Photography © The Art Institute of Chicago. Image not for download.

The 20th-century Czech abstract painter Frantiek Kupka painted solely from what he saw in his imagination (JAMA cover, April 16, 2008). His 18th-century Swiss predecessor Jean-Étienne Liotard (1702-1789), on the other hand, was Kupka's polar opposite: he was able to paint only what was directly before his eyes. Indeed, according to Horace Walpole, author, art collector, 4th Earl of Oxford, and Liotard's English contemporary, the Swiss painter had not even the imagination to omit anything, let alone add anything. If it was there it was painted. If the sitter's complexion had a pock mark or even a freckle, the scar or the freckle . . . [Full Text of this Article]

M. Therese Southgate, MD