He had always found a peculiar fascination in tracing in the paintings of the Old Masters, not merely the general characteristics of the people whom he encountered in his daily life, but rather what seems least susceptible of generalisation, the individual features of men and women whom he knew, as, for instance, in a bust of the Doge Loredan by Antonio Rizzo, the prominent cheekbones, the slanting eyebrows, in short, a speaking likeness to his own coachman Rémi;
Swannek beti izana zuen zaletasun berezi hori, maisuen pinturan, inguratzen gaituen errealitatearen ezaugarri orokorrak ez ezik, batez ere beste zerbait, orokortzen zailena dirudiena, aurkitu nahi izatea: ezagutzen ditugun aurpegien hazpegi zehatzak;