Cartoonist faces up to politicians

Tony Blair's eyes show intensity, but not great depth, cartoonist says

By CNN's Douglas Herbert

LONDON, England (CNN) - Forget the manifestos. To plumb the true essence of Tony Blair, look no further than his "elliptical nostrils."

To Evan Fotis, a political cartoonist whose work is well known in his native Greece, the British prime minister's nasal apertures signify an "adventurous type who enjoys taking risks" and "finds it hard to save."

Fotis, 27, specialises in "physiognomy", a science dating back to Aristotle whose practitioners scrutinise features of the human face for vital clues about the character of their possessor.

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In Victorian times, so-called "phrenologists" narrowed the scope of scrutiny to bumps in the skull, which devotees claimed could be used to predict criminal behaviour in would-be deviants.

For the physiognomist, appearances are rarely deceiving.

To Fotis's trained eye, the prime ministerial visage is rife with character clues: A "large, revealing" mouth, "narrow and alert" eyes, flattened ear-tops, and a "moderately deep" philtrum (the Latin term used to designate that pregnant gap between the upper lip and nose.)

Measuring angles

Physiognomy takes skull reading to a more refined level by scouring the entire face -- and not just cranial bumps -- for a composite picture of a person's emotional, mental and physical make-up.

It's a serious science, Fotis says, based on measuring minute variations in such things as the expanse of a forehead, the arch of a cheekbone, or the angle of incline from the inner ear to the bridge of the nose. (In Blair's case, 80.2 degrees.)

Taken together, this facial topography provides insights into characteristics that may -- or may not -- be evident from stump speeches and campaign mantras alone.

According to Fotis, for instance, Blair's large mouth reveals "an eager and insatiable disposition", while his narrow and alert eyes suggest intensity and penetration "but not great depth."

Those traits are partially offset, however, by another facial wild card: The flattened tops of his ears, which suggest "a rather controlled type who doesn't like being exposed."

"Blair usually is very quick, he is perceptive," Fotis told CNN. "He can understand the mood, the environment, and he can adapt easily … he absorbs many things."

William Hague's forehead indicates a "deep thinker." But he has trouble expressing "deep and sincere emotions."

By contrast, Blair's political nemesis, Conservative leader William Hague possesses "splendid reasoning and judgment."

Dividing Hague's prominent forehead into three distinct zones -- lower, middle and upper -- Fotis divines a deep thinker who is "careful in expressing an opinion," yet who is also very observant, optimistic and endowed with an "inborn knowledge of human nature."

Hague's pate suggests a more methodical, less spontaneous nature than Blair's. His tendency is to ponder an idea, arrive at a conclusion, and then follow it resolutely.

"He has somewhat of a difficulty producing an emotional response," Fotis said of Hague.

Fotis, who began drawing caricatures at 14, maintains that there's a latent physiognomist in all of us.

"Most of us read faces, we do it intuitively. All of us are receptors; we get messages from other people. When we meet someone we decide whether we like them or not -- it's very instinctive."

Celebrity clientele

For that reason, he sees what he does as merely the formal articulation of a process that we all go through. He said that studying facial structure gives him the advantage of added insight when he is commissioned to do someone's portrait.

His face-reading services have been solicited by celebrities ranging from Princess Diana to Sting to Jeremy Irons, all in pursuit of some deeper self-knowledge.

"Generally, celebrities are more open to this sort of thing," he said.

But he seems to really come into his own when limning the facial traits of famous politicians. To take a reliable facial reading can be a time-consuming endeavour, requiring patient measurement and analysis.

Fotis typically analyses a subject using photos or video footage that serve as a basis for profile and frontal sketches.

He then divides the face into sectors, much as an archaeologist might sub-divide plots on a digging site. Features are then analysed with strict criteria in mind, ranging from the shape of the face to broadness of the nose and size of the ear lobe.

A personality portrait only begins to emerge after a thorough appraisal that accounts for the fact that many people's faces have "contradictory" elements, which, taken individually, might give a skewed reading.

"When people ask me what does this nose mean, what does this mouth mean, (I say) it's the whole face, it depends on the overall temperament," Fotis says.

That said, Fotis is readily able to pinpoint distinguishing features of major political figures. With former British PM Margaret Thatcher, a characteristic type, it's the "Roman" nose that indicates a strong, rigid temperament.

"Her forehead, although it's high, it's narrow. Once she decides something, she can become fanatic."

The eyes and mouth of Russian President Vladimir Putin, meanwhile, betray a suspicious, introverted and unpredictable nature -- in stark contrast to his more impulsive, wayward predecessor, Boris Yeltsin.

Fotis knows that his job might court controversy -- but he believes that goes with the territory.

"It's controversial, many people won't believe it," he said. But other people will love it. They want to know something (about politicians) besides what is presented to them."