To Lino S. Lipinsky de Orlov
Via Santo Stefano Rotondo, 6
Rome. Jan. 10, 1951
Dear Mr. Lipinsky,
At first sight the photograph of your drawing of me surprised me, but after a moment it began to please. It boldly illustrates the difference between reproduction and characterisation, by its economy of means and its penetrating suggestion of character. The emphasis on the eyes would almost suffice to betray a disinterested philosopher. The mouth might be a better symbol for some; but you treated mine (which was said to laugh too much) very discreetly, giving it a faint trace of amiability. The limits of a sketch hardly allow for more elaboration. If you exaggerate, it becomes caricature. The wide-open eyes in your drawing might become ridiculous if taken to show me anxious or scared, rather than calmly observant; but I believe they are true to life, and admirably rendered. I should be much obliged if you would send me two or three more copies, and hope that Scribners will use it to balance the very fleshly and bloated photos of me that they have sometimes republished, faute de mieux.1 With many thanks
Yours sincerely
G Santayana
1. For want of better ones (French).
From The Letters of George Santayana: Book Eight, 1948-1952. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2008.
Location of manuscript: Collection of Lino S. Lipinsky de Orlov