The Precision of the Portrait To look at the work of Joseph Lander is to encounter the rigid social hierarchies of the eighteenth century through the lens of a Swiss hand. He was a painter who understood the weight of status. His focus remained fixed on the individual, utilizing the medium of pastel to capture the specificities of those who held power. He did not aim for abstraction; he aimed for the likeness that commanded respect in a courtly setting. Lander’s technical approach relied on the delicate, often unforgiving nature of pastel. This medium required a certain decisiveness. One cann…