The fourth coin in the Presidential Dollar series honors James Madison, who served for two terms, from 1809-1817. For some reason, this artist rendering doesn't "call out" to me in any special way. I can't tell what Madison is thinking here, nor do I feel that can I make a good character judgment. Sometimes art is just that way; the next person who looks at this drawing might see all kinds of strong personality traits! That's what makes art so fascinating; everyone seems to get something different from the same piece of artwork.
If I had to make an appraisal, I would speculate that the artist has softened the tone of a harsher looking man. There is a hint in the subtle depiction of Masidon's triple chins that perhaps he was a corpulent fellow, and yet the overall sense of the portrait isn't that of an obese man. The eyes seem to imply a youthfulness that the grey hair and balding head belie.
Let's compare what the artist conception looks like to what the die sculptor and engraver does with it... (See next image.)
If I had to make an appraisal, I would speculate that the artist has softened the tone of a harsher looking man. There is a hint in the subtle depiction of Masidon's triple chins that perhaps he was a corpulent fellow, and yet the overall sense of the portrait isn't that of an obese man. The eyes seem to imply a youthfulness that the grey hair and balding head belie.
Let's compare what the artist conception looks like to what the die sculptor and engraver does with it... (See next image.)