Ingmar Bergman. Sweden. Circa 1953.

Vintage gelatin silver photograph with a white margin on its edges -measures: 15.1 x 12 cm / 5.94 x 4.72 in-, loose. On the reverse, the wet stamp of the Aktiebolaget Svensk Filmindustri.

Portrait of the great film director Ingmar Bergman sitting on his traditional stool on the film set. The monocle that he holds with his hand, an object that the director uses to observe the frame that the camera will capture, points forward, while his gaze to the side and his gesture, biting a finger, show it distracted and thoughtful. The cinematographer of his films since 1953, the Swedish photographer Sven Nykvist took advantage of the distraction and captured it in one of his most iconic and most popular images.

Ingmar Bergman (Uppsala, 1918 - Fårö, 2007) was a Swedish screenwriter and director of theater and cinema, considered a key figure of the second half of the 20th century, author of masterpieces such as Persona or The Seventh Seal. Second son of the Lutheran pastor Erik Bergman, the metaphysical world of religion influenced both his childhood and adolescence, as well as his deeply existentialist cinema.

Sven Nykvist (Moheda, 1922-Stockholm, 2006) was a Swedish cinematographer particularly known for his work with Ingmar Bergman. He won two Oscars for photography for Screams and Whispers (1971) and Fanny and Alexander (1981). He also worked with directors Roman Polanski, John Huston, Woody Allen, Louis Malle, and Andrei Tarkovski. The photograph is stamped by the Stockholm-based company Svensk Filmindustri, founded in 1919. It was the company that made most of Ingmar Bergman's films. It is, therefore, an official photograph of Bergman. A specimen of notable interest.