It is nonsense to think of perfecting oneself in drawing before one begins to paint. In many ways his use of the blunt stroke , in which the initial brush stroke was left as is and not blended further, reflected past masters such as Franz Hals and presaged moderns such as Claude Monet. An example of this can be found in the face of Mrs. Peabody. The different flesh tones are clearly distinguishable and are not the result of carefully building up and blending. Stuart s blunt stroke shows both his judgement, and his confidence.
Portrait paintings reflect the ideas of the painters as well as the rendering of the subject.
As the subject is before us, it is good to try an imagine the person that painted it.