同樣是寫實紀實，肖像繪畫比起肖像攝影具備更多人為操作空間。在「真實」記載被描繪者的外觀與性格特質的同時，肖像繪畫也是承載與形塑社群共通理想美學標準的符碼。納粹時期的常民肖像繪畫，常以去除富含背景資訊的周邊物件與景致的方式呈現，且採取如識別證大頭照般的形式構圖，以彰顯五官特質。這使得當時被認為是科學性研究的面相學（physiognomy）研究，巧妙地成為客觀寫實描繪的認知基底，也成為納粹人種理論的重要視覺宣傳媒材。此篇論文試圖以德國第三帝國時期書報雜誌刊物上的常民肖像畫為文本，剖析納粹主義中的理想人種概念，如何在其美學（浪漫寫實主義）、科學知識（面相學）、與意識型態（人種理論）的交互運作下被合理化。

In terms of documenting ＂reality＂, portrait paintings are much easier to be manipulated than portrait photography. Despite of the attempt of ＂authentically＂ recording the appearance and characteristics of the sitter, portrait paintings do not neutrally reflect the reality. They carry unconsciously the codes that formulate the aesthetic ideal of the community. When this media is employed to portray the commoners, the content and purposes of the artworks were different from the conventional portrait painting. In western art history, we could find that head portraits were often executed without background depictions and were presented in an exactly identical way as the studies of physiognomy. Physiognomy in the 18^(th) century was largely recognized as a branch of scientific knowledge. The system of knowledge was used by Nazi portrait painters to combine ＂scientific＂ knowledge with ＂objective＂ observations, to formulate a new ideal of aesthetic, and to provide strong visual materials for Nazi racial theory. By examining the relationship among the aesthetics (Romantic Realism), scientific knowledge (physiognomy), and ideology (racial theory), this article attempts to tease out how the concept of an ideal human race in the Nazi racial theory was legitimized and accepted through the visual media of portraiture.