Verisimilitude
This portrait of George Schaefer, Jr., former CEO of Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati, was painted by Carl Samson, one of America’s leading portrait artists. No doubt it is a fine likeness, but portraitists like Carl paint more than likeness. What they are able to capture is verisimilitude—the appearance of truth. Lawyers and judges speak in terms of “burden of proof” and “preponderance of evidence” asking: what facts in evidence make something, more likely than not, true and credible? Attending a live painting session to observe Carl paint George’s portrait, you could see the convincing facts build, brushstroke by brushstroke.
