This article addresses the issue the role of the portrait in the novels by L. Tolstoy and J. Galsworthy. Particular attention is paid to the similarity of the function of color detail to create expressive and vivid portraits of the characters and to reveal the inner world of the characters. The use of repeat color details is traced, which is presented by various techniques. The comparative analysis of the works “Anna Karenina” and “The Forsyte Saga” allow concluding that their poetics of the verbal portrait has similarities.