“What is a portrait good for, unless it shows just how the subject was seen by the painter? In the old days before photography came in a sitter had a perfect right to say to the artist: "Paint me just as I am." Now if he wishes absolute fidelity he can go to the photographer and get it.”

As quoted in Aubrey Beardsley : A Biography (1999) by Matthew Sturgis, p. 189

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Aubrey Beardsley photo
Aubrey Beardsley 19
English illustrator and author 1872–1898

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