Sigmund Freud signature

A slender first-name group includes a long downward opening return.

Sigmund Freud's signature
Vector tracing of the signature specimen. Image credit: Sigmund Freud · Public domain.

What does Sigmund Freud’s signature look like?

A slender first-name group includes a long downward opening return. The surname begins with a much taller angular F and continues through small pointed connected forms toward a high final stroke. Compare those two openings with the intervening low band: the stronger vertical emphasis appears in the surname rather than uniformly across the full name.

Slant
+35°forward
Baseline
+6.2°rising
Width / height
3.45 : 1overall proportions
Opening height
0.84×opening versus body letters

About Sigmund Freud and this autograph

Sigmund Freud (6 May 1856 – 23 September 1939) was an Austrian psychiatrist and founder of psychoanalysis. This specimen is the Wikimedia Commons vector rendering of Sigmund Freud’s signature.

Sigmund Freud signature and handwriting analysis

Sigmund Freud’s signature sample has 35° of forward slant, a rising baseline and 4 enclosed loops. Comparing autograph strokes, baseline angle (+6.2°), slant (+35°), opening ratio (0.84×) and enclosed loops (4) reveals how individual signature traits contrast with standard handwriting features. Use the layers to follow the writing line, letter band, slant and enclosed loops.

Slantforward
+35°
Baselinerising
+6.2°
Width / heightoverall proportions
3.45 : 1
Opening heightopening versus body letters
0.84×
Enclosed loopsclosed spaces in the image
4
Ink groupsmain disconnected groups
3
Ink densityinside the signature bounds
7.6%
Underlineno long lower flourish
None
Finish heightrelative to the letter body
+1.25×

Opening, letter body and finish

The opening is lower than the typical letter body. The opening-to-body ratio is 0.84×, while the whole image is 3.45 times as wide as it is tall. The rightmost ink finishes above the writing line; look at this ending separately from the slant of the letters themselves.

Loops and the lower flourish

The sample contains 4 enclosed loops and 3 main ink groups. The letterforms carry the main horizontal movement; there is no long lower underline detected beneath their band.

All 11 measured signature features

Slant

+35°
−450°+45Slant +35° from vertical+35° from vertical

Angle of the letter strokes from vertical. Positive angles lean right; negative angles lean left.

The signature has a forward slant (+35°). The blue-green guides show the lean of strokes across the name.

Baseline

+6.2°
Baseline +6.2 degrees from horizontalstartfinish+6.2° · dashed = level

Direction of the writing line from the beginning to the end of the signature.

The writing line rises (+6.2°). The red guide follows the base of the letters, separate from lower loops and flourishes.

Opening capital

0.8×
Opening height 0.8 times following lettersopeningbody0.8×1×

Height of the opening letter relative to the typical letters that follow. 1× means similar heights.

The opening stands 0.8 times as high as the following letters. The purple box marks its area; the dashed blue guide marks the letter-body band.

Enclosed loops

4
4 enclosed loops highlighted in the measured signature4 enclosed spaces

Closed spaces surrounded by ink, counted across the whole signature.

There are 4 enclosed loops in the sample. Orange outlines locate them. Compare their size and placement within the name.

Ink groups

3
3 connected ink groups; each circle represents one groupeach circle = one ink group3 groups in the sample

Separate connected areas of ink in the image. Dots or detached letters can form additional groups.

The signature contains 3 main ink groups. The visible ink is divided into separate shapes. Look at where those shapes join or separate.

Ink density

8%
7.6 percent of signature area filled with ink7.6% filled areagrid = 100% of signature area

Share of the signature’s enclosing rectangle occupied by ink.

Ink covers 8% of the measured signature area; the rest is open space. Compare the open areas with the thickness of the visible strokes.

Underline / flourish

None
Measured signature without a long lower underlineNo lower underline

Length of a lower underline or flourish compared with the full signature width.

No long lower underline is detected. The name is carried by the letterforms and their own lower strokes.

Finish height

+1.3×
Finish +1.3 typical letter heights from baseline1×baseline+1.3× · above / below line

Height of the rightmost ending above or below the baseline, in typical letter heights. Positive is above; negative is below.

The ending sits high above the writing line (+1.3 letter heights). The orange guide locates the finish relative to the red baseline.

Width / height

3.5 : 1
Signature ink width 1083 pixels and height 313 pixels1083 px wide × 313 px high

Full ink width divided by full ink height, including the signature’s tall and low strokes.

The shape is 3.5 times as wide as it is high. Its ink spans 1083 × 313 image pixels. Compare the horizontal spread with the vertical reach of the capitals and loops.

Ornamentation

2.7×
Stroke path 2965 pixels compared with 1083 pixel signature widthstroke path2,965 pxname width1083 pxpath is 2.7× the width

Total traced stroke length divided by signature width. More turns and retraced shapes add length.

The traced strokes total 2,965 pixels, about 2.7 times the signature’s width. Look for loops, turns and flourishes that add movement within that width.

Angularity

5.5
5.5 corners per 100 pixels of ink outline0510corners per 100 px of outline

Number of corners per 100 pixels of traced ink outline. Higher values indicate more frequent sharp turns.

The outline contains about 5.5 corners per 100 pixels. Inspect the turns in the pen-path layer and compare pointed changes of direction with rounded curves.

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Compare these samples’ slant, proportions and letter rhythm with Sigmund Freud’s autograph.

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