Seraphic Secret

Robert J. Avrech: Emmy Award winning screenwriter. Movie fanatic. Helplessly and hopelessly in love with my wife since age nine.

Friday Photos: True Hollywood Confessions, How to be Beautiful

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Greta Garbo’s dramatic eye make-up was the inspiration for many a Hollywood starlet – including Marilyn Monroe – and not without good reason. To create the look, she would apply a super-thin layer of petroleum jelly over the eyelids, cover with neutral skin-toned powder all the way up to the brow line and blend a dark shade into the crease for a theatrical, deep-set appearance. She’d also line the upper lid with eyeliner made from a blend of petroleum and charcoal pigment, and finish with mascara.
Greta Garbo’s dramatic eye make-up was an inspiration to many of her female fans. To create the look, she would apply a thin layer of petroleum jelly over her eyelids, cover with neutral skin-toned powder all the way up to the brow line and blend a dark shade into the crease for a deep-set appearance. She’d also line her upper lid with eyeliner made from a blend of petroleum and charcoal pigment, and finish with mascara.

Self Portrait by Elisabetta Sirani, 1660, Italy
Self Portrait by Elisabetta Sirani, 1660, Italy

 

Lotte Beese, Self Portrait, 1927
Lotte Beese, Self Portrait, 1927

 

Giovanni Fattori, White Wall, 1871, 37 x 56 cm.
Giovanni Fattori, White Wall, 1871, oil on canvas, 37 x 56 cm.

 

Irving Penn, Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn wearing a mantel coat by Cristobal Balenziaga, 1950
Irving Penn, Lisa Fonssagrives-Penn wearing a mantel coat by Cristobal Balenziaga, 1950.

 

Clifford Still, 1904-1980 Title: 1953 oil on canvas Support: 2359 x 1740 mm
Clyfford Still, 1904-1980
Title: 1953
oil on canvas
7′ x 5′

 

Marilyn Monroe usually applied five layers of lipstick in different shades of red to create fuller lips. She applied the darker lipstick on the outer edges and the lighter shades in the middle to lend dimension, and with a highlighted cupid bow and bottom lip.
Marilyn Monroe usually applied five layers of lipstick in different shades of red to create fuller lips. She applied the darker lipstick on the outer edges and then increasingly  lighter shades in the middle to lend dimension.

 

Self Portrait Aged Twelve by Anna Waser, 1691, Switzerland
Self Portrait Aged Twelve by Anna Waser, 1691, Switzerland

 

Ilse Bing, Self-Portrait, My First Photograph, 14-years old, Frankfort, 1913
Ilse Bing, Self-Portrait, My First Photograph, 14-years old, Frankfort, 1913

 

Giovanni Fattori, The Rotunda of Palmieri, 1866, oil on the table, oil on panel, 12 × 35 cm
Giovanni Fattori, The Rotunda of Palmieri, 1866, oil on panel, 12 × 35 cm

 

Louise Brooks by Eugene Robert Richee (1928)
Louise Brooks by Eugene Robert Richee, 1928

 

Gene Davis , Queen's Gate, 1980, Acrylic on canvas, 95 x 124 inches
Gene Davis , Queen’s Gate, 1980, Acrylic on canvas, 95 x 124 inches

 

When shooting a film, Dietrich positioned a full-length mirror beside the camera so she could keep an eye on herself. Dietrich’s knowledge of lighting and camera were often more sophisticated than the cameramen and directors with whom she she worked. Her face was a living canvas on which Dietrich labored for perfection. If you look closely at her movies of the 40’s, when she was no longer working with Joseph von Sternberg—real name Jonas Sternberg—you can, on occasion, see the white line Dietrich inscribed down her nose to give it a more streamlined appearance.
When shooting a film, Dietrich positioned a full-length mirror beside the camera so she could keep an eye on herself. Dietrich’s knowledge of lighting and camera were often more sophisticated than the cameramen and directors with whom she she worked. Her face was a living canvas on which Dietrich labored for perfection. If you look closely at her movies of the 40’s, when she was no longer working with Joseph von Sternberg—real name Jonas Sternberg—you can, on occasion, see the white line Dietrich inscribed down her nose to give it a more streamlined appearance.

 

Self Portrait by Angelica Kauffman, 1781, Austria
Self Portrait by Angelika Kauffman, 1781, Austria

 

Vivian Maier, Self Portrait
Vivian Maier, Self Portrait

 

Giovanni Fatter, Red Gotine, cm. 40 x 29 Modern Art Gallery of Turin
Giovanni Fattori, Red Gotine, cm. 40 x 29 Modern Art Gallery of Turin

 

Capucine for ELLE, Boulevard de la Madeleine, Paris,1952 by Georges Dambier
George Dambier, Capucine for ELLE, Boulevard de la Madeleine, Paris, 1952.

 

Freud asked: “What do women want?” Poor, clueless Sigmund. Women want cute shoes. Offspring #2 and #3 have discovered the perfect cutes shoe.
Freud asked: “What do women want?” Poor, clueless Sigmund. Women want cute shoes. Offspring #2 and #3 have discovered the perfect cute shoe.

 

Robert J. Avrech, Silent Picture, Los Angeles, 2016
Robert J. Avrech, Silent Picture, Los Angeles, 2016

 

Karen agrees with Offsprings #2&3 on what constitutes cute footwear.
Karen agrees with Offsprings #2 & 3 on what constitutes perfectly cute footwear.

 

Lielle Meital wishes all our friends and relatives a lovely and inspirational Shabbat. Photo by: Steve Cohn www.stevecohnphotography.com © 2016
Lielle Meital wishes all our friends and relatives a lovely and inspirational Shabbat.
Photo by: Steve Cohn
www.stevecohnphotography.com
© 2016

 

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Comments

  2. I remember reading a biography on Marlene – and in the last part of he career – when she was in a stage show (wasn’t it a solitary show like Cary Grants?) – but she would give lighting directions on the stage to the stage hands – and they listened.

    As I came to learn more about these classic stars – I wish I could have seen those shows….

    Didn’t realize so many of the stars – Garbo, MM…worked so hard to look beautiful.

  3. There’s a documentary about Vivien Mier online. Check Amazon, Hulu, Netflix, etc. I believe there were 4,000 unexposed negatives at the time of her death.

  4. Kudos again, Robert.

    I am most interested in Vivian Maier’s photo. She was an interesting person. From what I’ve read, I wouldn’t agree with her ideology, but she had a fascinating eye for photography and, if I remember correctly, many of her negatives were never printed in her lifetime. Fascinating…

    Have a wonderful Sabbath everyone!

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