Pierre Bezukhov

Tolstoy to Bashilov on April 4, 1866:

"His face is good (if only there could be more of a tendency to philosophizing in his forehead – little wrinkles or bumps over his eyebrows), but his body is small – it should be wider and stouter and more massive."

Pierre Bezukhov

In the same letter (April 4, 1866), Tolstoy suggested the following:

"Pierre might be portrayed lying on a couch and reading a book, or, having torn himself away from his book, gazing distractedly and thoughtfully ahead through his glasses – he’d have leaned on one arm with the other tucked between his legs – actually, this is really better than him standing, though you, of course, know best."

Pierre Bezukhov

The sketch by Bashilov that partially follows Tolstoy’s advice