Thomas Gainsborough, an 18th century artist famous for his portraits, was using brushes that were two metre (6.5 feet) long. Why did he use brushes that were so much “extended”?
There are four options to choose from. Which one do you think is right?
1. As a professional billiards player, he felt more at ease with long-handled brushes.
2. He developed an allergy for paint, and had to stay as far from it as he could manage.
3. When painting, he wanted to keep the same distance to the canvas as to the model.
4. He suffered from hypermetropia (longsightedness) but hated working in spectacles.
I thought I could entertain you with this quiz, while I am working on a large post on Bandinelli and Michelangelo. Now, your guess!
PS This type of quiz works well during the time when your order is taken but the first wave of appetizers has not appeared yet.
Standing Ovation, Seated 
I guess he was hypermetropic.
I think it is the 3rd on the list. His paintings were really huge.. lifesized or nearly so. But how he did the amazing clothing and opulent surroundings with long brushes… he MUST have come up close to do some of that. It would be closer to copying shape for shape if he could trace around the figure of the model and then apply the same gesture to the canvas. But this is only a guess.
Bingo! It’s the third option )