The famous Sphinx Collage by Clarence Sinclair Bull-
Garbo's un-American desire for privacy and her refusal to give interviews led to her being dubbed with many nicknames, but the one that stuck was ‘The Swedish Sphinx'. Bull could claim credit for this. A somber portrait from Inspiration superimposed on the face of the Sphinx put a picture where there had only been words.
In 1931 he decided to experiment in the darkroom. Taking a vignette close-up study of Garbo's face he re-exposed it over a photograph of the Cairo Sphinx, having previously airbrushed out its face. When photographer Bull showed the results of his experiment to Garbo, he was afraid that she might be offended.
But Greta “roared with laughter and then begged my pardon, thinking she had offended me,” he said. The composite was approved, much to the delight of the Metro publicity department.The studio was thrilled. The picture was distributed throughout the world and became one of the most widely reproduced of her images.
The “Swedish Sphinx” neatly capsulated the Garbo persona, becoming one of the most recognizable images in the world. “The more mask-like the face, the deeper the mystery,” one fan magazine stated. When Bull superimposed Garbo's face on the head of the Sphinx he was documenting, not creating, a twentieth-century icon.
1 comment:
The famous Sphinx Collage by Clarence Sinclair Bull-
Garbo's un-American desire for privacy and her refusal to give interviews led to her being dubbed with many nicknames, but the one that stuck was ‘The Swedish Sphinx'. Bull could claim credit for this. A somber portrait from Inspiration superimposed on the face of the Sphinx put a picture where there had only been words.
In 1931 he decided to experiment in the darkroom. Taking a vignette close-up study of Garbo's face he re-exposed it over a photograph of the Cairo Sphinx, having previously airbrushed out its face. When photographer Bull showed the results of his experiment to Garbo, he was afraid that she might be offended.
But Greta “roared with laughter and then begged my pardon, thinking she had offended me,” he said. The composite was approved, much to the delight of the Metro publicity department.The studio was thrilled. The picture was distributed throughout the world and became one of the most widely reproduced of her images.
The “Swedish Sphinx” neatly capsulated the Garbo persona, becoming one of the most recognizable images in the world. “The more mask-like the face, the deeper the mystery,” one fan magazine stated. When Bull superimposed Garbo's face on the head of the Sphinx he was documenting, not creating, a twentieth-century icon.
-(from garboforever.com)
Post a Comment