His subjects' humanity, and his, of course, would shine through.
Testino, whose job I recall seeing described once as being that of making beautiful people look more beautiful, has always produced crashingly boring portraits, which kitsch out every last shred of his subjects' humanity.
What they missed was that, far from treating portraiture as some kind of cheap parlour trick, he brought to it an exquisite sense of his subjects' humanity, more moving than anything you might find in a blustering David and Goliath or even a mawkish Nativity.
By showing how much strivers on all rungs of the celebrity ladder have in common -- how their dreams can taunt or tickle, curdle or take flight, Tolins' finespun script allows us to appreciate its subjects' humanity as well as the comic potential in their plight.
Tuition fees could bring a bonanza for humanities - if the same fees apply for all subjects, humanities departments may benefit, says Jonathan Wolff.
Since September 2013, the university has been running Meet the Professionals events in a wide range of subjects (humanities, science, health and life science and engineering), enabling students to meet alumni who have graduated from similar disciplines to theirs.
But fewer students want to study humanities subjects: English departments awarded more bachelor's degrees in 1970-71 they they did 20 years later.
Like any well crafted icon or story, the mask is evidence of its subject's humanity, of Malcolm's strong human spirit.
But who takes a continent for a subject when humanity is close at hand?
Even when he dons the judge's heavy robe, he never succumbs to the self-seriousness that might diminish his subject's humanity.
