Irving Penn, 1945 for Vogue

[Steve Paradis]

[Le Chiffre]

Thanks Steve. Nice copy of the picture. Peter Conrad is the only one I know of who's made a guess as to what this picture is trying to say, in his ORSON WELLES: THE STORIES OF HIS LIFE, and his interpretation, something to do with Welles' inflated ego, was only moderately convincing (it's somewhere on this message board, as I remember). One can really only make loose observations, and mine are a bit more Freudian than Conrad's. Welles' cigar, so close to his groin, seems like a phallic symbol, ready to enter the 'hole' of the French Horn, which will give birth to a flying dragon. Of course, the dragon also seems to be coming out of the gramophone sound horn, which is attached to the old-time film camera for some reason.

Another interesting thing is that the plastic circle around the raven and the train tracks around the balloon and the beer form the number 8. I have no idea if that means anything or not, but the train calls to mind OW's statement that film was the best electric train set any boy ever had. Other possible phallic symbols include the stick of dynamite, the beer bottle the carafe of wine, and the top hat (or cylinder hat) according to dream interpretation quoted at this page:
https://www.dreamsmain.com/top-hat-cylinder

A Dream Interpretation About The Top Hat, Cylinder
Vision: The top hat in a man’s dream is a phallic symbol.

A cylinder appears often, in a man’s dream, if he feels he cannot perform sexually as well as he used to. Wearing a top hat; success will bring recognition from friends and the public.

Depth Psychology: The cylinder from a motor is an indication of your strength and vitality—and you will need both to reach the goals you have set for yourself.

Until World War I the top hat was maintained as a standard item of formal outdoor wear by upper-class males for both daytime and evening usage.