Graphology: What an Artist’s Handwriting Says About Them

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Written by: Hana Rehman

When looking at artwork created by masters like Picasso or Da Vinci, it’s common to wonder where the artist found their inspiration.

Some artists are willing to share the meaning behind their art and reveal their inner thoughts, but we aren’t usually that lucky. Many famous artists choose to keep their personal lives a secret or are no longer alive to tell their stories. When this happens, fans must look elsewhere for clues about famous figures’ personalities, and many turn to graphology to find answers.

Note from Anna: By the way, you can use these same ideas to start analyzing your own signature. How exciting!

What is Graphology?

Graphology, or the study of handwriting, analyzes a person’s character traits based on their writing style or signature.

For over a century, people have marveled over the possibility of using graphology to get to know famous people and historical figures through their writing. While not entirely scientific, the practice has evolved to become incredibly detail-oriented, and people have begun to use it to map out countless artists’ personality traits.

Graphology is widely considered a pseudo-science and is not used as an official method for determining a person’s personality traits or mental state. However, one cannot help but wonder if it can achieve some level of accuracy. Because, while most individuals learn how to write in the same way, everyone develops their own personal signature and handwriting style. Most graphologists would tell you that this has much more to do with a person’s personality and inner sense of self than their preferences or physical ability.

The Main Elements of Graphology

Graphology involves looking at a wide range of different elements and can include everything from the letter size to the amount of pressure the signer put on the pen. The list below includes some of the basic elements graphologists look at to give you a general idea of how the process works.

Size

Size is one of the first things people notice when looking at a famous person’s signature. While some people sign their name using tiny, cramped letters, others may sign using a large, sweeping script – think John Hancock’s signature at the bottom of the Declaration of independence.

Ordinary observers may simply view this as a creative or personal choice. But to graphologists, the size of a signature can tell them a lot about the person who penned it. It can reveal their self-confidence level, the image they want to portray to the public, and how important that image is to them. Below are the basics traits each signature size is said to reveal about the signer:

Small Signature: Indicates that the signer is introspective and prefers to keep to themself.
Medium Signature: Indicates that the signer is modest, well-adjusted, and has a good, stable sense of self.
Large Signature: Indicates that the signer is confident, outgoing, and has a larger-than-life personality.

Artist Connection: Joan Miro famously signed using a large, bold M, suggesting that he was outgoing and self-assured.

Width

When looking at a signature, graphologists pay close attention to the letters’ width to determine various personality traits. Like other elements of graphology, measuring letter width involves a very precise and specific scale. In fact, professional graphologists measure letters with a millimeter scale, and the difference between two personality identifiers can come down to a half-millimeter. The following scale can give you a general idea of what letter width could indicate about a signer’s personality:

Very Small (under 1.5 mm): Suggests that the signer is rational, precise, and demanding.
Small (1.2 – 2.5 mm): Indicates the signer is meticulous and practical but tends to be shy and overly routine-oriented
Medium (2.5 – 3.5 mm): Suggests a spontaneous and sociable personality; signers are generally emotionally-balanced
Wide (3.5 – 4.5): Signers are often optimistic, communicative and confident, but tend to be conceited and may crave recognition.
Very Wide (4.5 or wider): Suggest that the signer is a visionary but could be overly prideful and vain.

Artist Connection: Rembrandt often signed with wide letters, indicating that he was generous and social, but may have craved compliments on his work.

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Pen Pressure

Pen pressure isn’t always visible to the naked eye, but if you know what to look for, a signature’s ink can show you how hard the writer pressed down on the pen. To determine this, it is important to pay close attention to the lightness or darkness of the lines as well as the intensity of the color. If the signature is long, the pen pressure could even change from one letter to the next.

Graphologists look at pen pressure to determine the writer’s emotional state at the time of signing. While heavy pressure suggests that the writer was determined and strong-minded while writing, soft pressure indicates that they may have felt doubtful or insecure. If the pen pressure varies, the writer could have shown signs of impulsiveness or insecurity.

Next time you look at the signature on famous artwork, take an extra moment to think about how bold or faint the lines are. It could tell you something about how the artist felt about their finished product.

Spacing

picasso signature. What does this famous artist signature say about his personality.

Line and letter spacing are popular characteristics for graphologists to determine how the writer felt about other people. The space between letters can often reveal how open and comfortable the signer felt around other people.

Big spaces: This indicates that the writer is open, generous, and experiences an overall sense of happiness.
No spaces: Suggests that the writer is an intellectual and may feel closed-off or anxious around other people.

Artist connection: Pablo Picasso’s signature features large spaces between letters, indicating that he was friendly, generous and had an expansive personality.

Slant

Dali signature. What does this famous artist signature say about his personality.

Graphologists often look at the direction, frequency, and angle of a signature’s slant to discover the writer’s inner emotions and feelings about their art. Some artists sign using the same slant type each time, and others may have mixed it up depending on how they felt at the time.

If an artist added a slant to some letters but not others, that could indicate an entirely different range of emotions and personality traits. While these elements can quickly get complicated, we’ve outlined some of the basic conclusions graphologists can draw from looking at the direction of a signature’s slant.

Left Slant: Suggest that the writer is kind and honest, but may tend to resist convention.
Right Slant: Indicates that the artist is reserved and frustrated; they may have decision-making problems.
No Slant: Suggests a high level of intelligence and shows that the writer is calm, determined and values stability.

Artist connection: Salvador Dali’s signature featured a right slant, indicating that he was kind, sympathetic and often opposed convention.

Letter Shape and Size

Factors like letter shape, size, and weight can be analyzed to determine different characteristics and personality traits. Because graphologists analyze every uppercase and lowercase letter separately, it would be nearly impossible to describe the process for every single one. Instead, we’ve provided a short overview of what the shape of a lowercase can tell you about its writer.

Round: Indicates that the artist is diplomatic and reserved around others, but may have trust issues.
Oval: Indicates that the artist is kind, open and creative.
Pointed top: If a lowercase is pointed at the top, the artist likely has a determined, dignified and tenacious personality.
Pointed Bottom: Indicates that the artist is overly sensitive to criticism, and their stubbornness makes it difficult to communicate.

Analyze Famous Artists’ Signatures

Now that you know some of graphology’s most basic elements, you can use them to learn more about what some of the world’s most famous artists might have been like. We’ve used the basic methods of analysis listed above to analyze the handwriting of three famous artists and discover what their unique personalities may have been like.

Leonardo da Vinci

Leonardo da Vinci is an Italian painter who worked during the Renaissance period in the 15th and 16th centuries. Da Vinci is widely viewed as one of the most talented painters to ever live, and he is famously known for painting the Mona Lisa and The Vitruvian Man.

While Da Vinci lived over 500 years ago, we can still see what his personality may have been like by analyzing his signature. The variety of angles he used in his signature suggest that Da Vinci was proud and determined in life, but his career and pursuit of knowledge may have often left him feeling frustrated.

Michelangelo

Michelangelo is another Italian artist who lived during the same period as Da Vinci. He is famous for both his painting and sculptures, and some of his most famous works include the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel and The Pieta, a sculpture that is currently housed in St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican City.

Michelangelo’s signature is very small and neat and features a right slant, indicating that he was introspective and had a tendency towards abstinence and solitude.

Frida Kahlo

Frida Kahlo was a Mexican artist who worked mainly in surrealism during the first half of the 20th century. She is famous for her self-portraits, and she often used her art to explore gender, class, race and identity issues within Mexican society.

Frida Kahlo’s signature features a hard right slant and often varied in pen pressure, indicating that she took a lot of pride in her work. However, it also shows that she may have been troubled and highly sensitive, all of which were traits that could have come from her difficult background.

While it is impossible to say with certainty that a signature can reveal everything about an artist, Graphology can provide us with unique insights into an artist’s mind that we likely couldn’t find anywhere else.

See the infographic below to learn what graphologists can uncover about more famous artists’ personalities:

Inforgaphic by: 1stdibs.com