Leonhard Örnbeck

Leonhard Örnbeck spent his life painting the faces of Sweden’s elite, often flattering them into softer cheeks and brighter eyes. He once turned a countess’s serious portrait into something almost playful, as if she’d just heard a joke. Look up his *Portrait of Countess Ulrika Lovisa Tessin*—her lace collar seems to glow, but the real trick is in how the light catches her pearl earring.