Friday, August 20, 2010

A Classic Cartoon Face In Real Life

Ingrid Bergman has a great facial structure. She has very strong defined bones and then really distinct cheeks, lips and nose and eyes sticking out of, wrapped around and sitting within them.
Unfortunately, in these glamor photos you don't see them quite as well as you can in her movies. I think the publicity department went out of its way to try to hide her most interesting features.
She has a profile that's very exaggerated.
It's like her lower face sticks out way past her forehead.She has a long nose that sticks out and up at a cartoony angle. Again, it's not as evident in these publicity shots.It reminds me of the way Owen Fitzerald drew Starlet O'hara in the 40s comics.I wish I had this comic. Someone scan it and post it!
They also seem to be hiding her overbite. Her upper teeth really stick out and overlap her lower lip.

I love the color in the old photos. Colors seemed to be a lot richer back then. They especially had a way of bringing out fleshtones. Probably with an airbrush, but even in the color movies they did it.Modern movie photography (from the 70s to today) and even publicity shots are dull, bland and flat. I guess anti-glamor is the fashion.

Anyway, Ingrid has a great face to draw but I'll want to do it from a dvd where I can freeze frame the most interesting angles and expressions.

Another thing they tried to hide in the 40s publicity shots was the fact that she has a relatively small forehead compared to her cheeks and jaw. Not what you would think are normal proportions for a pretty girl, but it works.
You can see it in this early photo.
She has exaggerated "nordic features". Can I say that?


Her face got more interesting as she got a bit older. I love how she looks in the Italian films like Europa 51. Maybe losing some baby fat brought out her dynamic skull stucture.