Could You Have Been a Founding Father?

I could never have been a founding father. Aside from the obvious fact that I am female, I just don’t have the nose for it.

Alexander Hamilton

Take Alexander Hamilton's nose for instance. He was, in my opinion, one of the best looking of the founding fathers. His nose, although quite prominent, fits his face nicely, don't you think? 

Quick aside: I'm so fascinated by Hamilton that I gave him a cameo role in Le Chevalier. As an artillary officer for Washington (a post he really did hold at the time) he helps clear out Philadelphia before the British arrive. 

Patrick Henry

Then there's Patrick Henry's nose. He looks as intense as his reputation. No problem keeping those glasses on his nose either! (You have to look close, but he has a pair of silver wireframes sitting just above his hairline. )

Marquis de Lafayette

Then there's my favorite hero of the American Revolution, the Marquis de Lafayette. He has more than a cameo role in Le Chevalier, but I really tried to stay true to the history. While the Marquis isn't quite a founding father per se, he did serve as a General in the Continental Army and as Washington's Aide de Camp. In fact, Washington came to regard Lafayette almost as a son. 

Lafayette's nose has an interesting little slope to it, but it's still quite pronounced.

George Washington

Speaking of Washington, let's take a closer look.

No microscope needed here. He may be just the father of our country, but that's the grand daddy of all noses.

By the way, I'm not sure if he actually wore rouge or if that was just the painter's way of giving him some color. As a man who spent a great deal of his life suffering from illness - malaria (5 times), tuberculosis (twice), smallpox (you can only get it once or he would surely have had it more often), diptheria, and dysentary (probably more times that he let on) - it wouldn't surprise me if he was a little pale.

John Adams

How about John Adams? He was always portrayed as a short, rolly-polly sort. Perhaps he has a little button nose to go with his round face?

Hmm, rolly-polly he may be, but that's still quite the schnoz. In fact, he is painted as having as close to an aquiline nose as I've shown yet.

aquiline: shaped like an eagle's beak; hooked
source: dictionary.com

Remember all the heros from the romance novels of the 1980s who were described as having aquiline noses? I always assumed those authors never looked up the word. Who wants a romantic hero whose nose looks like a beak? (No offense to Adams, of course, but he was no one's idea of a romantic hero. Well, maybe Abigail's...)

OK, that's enough founding fathers for now. You can head to Wikimedia Commons yourself and check out more portraits if you're interested in anyone specifically.

For those of you who ever thought your nose was too big, take heart in the fact that you're in good company. As for me, I'll just have to be content with who I am.

MJ