Italian lips: volume, shape and philtrum in 77 observed portraits

Italian: overall lip volume Moderate in 75% of 77; upper-to-lower lip volume ratio Balanced (~1:1) in 97% of 75; cupid's bow morphology Soft / rounded in 92% of 75; philtrum definition Soft in 47% of 76; mouth width Balanced in 87% of 77.

  • Italian catalog portrait, AI-generated, lips in view

Catalog portraits for Italian are AI-generated adult subjects; the measurements on this page come from documented photographs of real people, not from these images.

Overall lip volume

n = 77 assessable

Combined lip volume from a frontal view. Independent ethnic-correlated dimension; West African and African-diaspora populations average higher native lip volume than European populations, with substantial individual variation.

ValueSharen
ThinMinimal lip volume; lips barely project from the perioral plane.8%6
ModerateAverage volume; lips clearly visible with modest projection.75%58
FullPronounced volume; lips project substantially from the perioral plane.17%13

Vocabulary: Overall lip volume (lip_volume_qualitative)

Upper-to-lower lip volume ratio

n = 75 assessable

Relative volume of the upper lip compared to the lower lip in frontal view.

ValueSharen
Balanced (~1:1)Upper and lower lip of approximately equal volume.97%73
Lower dominant (natural ratio)Lower lip larger than upper, approximating the 1:1.6 aesthetic reference.3%2

Vocabulary: Upper-to-lower lip volume ratio (mallucci_branford_lip_ratio)

Cupid's bow morphology

n = 75 assessable

Shape of the upper-lip vermilion border at midline (Cupid's bow).

ValueSharen
Soft / roundedGentle curves at the peaks; M-shape present but rounded.92%69
soft defined3%2
Sharp / definedCrisp angular peaks at the philtral columns; clear M-shape.3%2
soft arch3%2

Vocabulary: Cupid's bow morphology (cupids_bow_qualitative)

Philtrum definition

n = 76 assessable

Shape and definition of the philtrum (the vertical groove between the nose and upper lip).

ValueSharen
SoftSubtle column definition.47%36
Defined columnsClear philtral columns visible; well-demarcated central groove.46%35
Elongated (long upper lip)Vertical philtrum length above the aesthetic reference range.5%4
Short upper lipVertical philtrum length below the aesthetic reference range.1%1

Vocabulary: Philtrum definition (philtrum_qualitative)

Mouth width

n = 77 assessable

Width of the mouth (cheilion to cheilion) relative to the inter-iris distance.

ValueSharen
BalancedMouth width approximately equal to inter-iris distance (Farkas reference).87%67
WideMouth width substantially greater than inter-iris distance.13%10

Vocabulary: Mouth width (mouth_width_proportional)

Where these numbers come from

80 publicly documented portraits of notable Italian people were assessed by a vision model against the full 22-vocabulary schema, one value per dimension. Values are what the photographs show, read by a model, not population measurements. Each table counts only portraits where the value could be assessed; covered, obscured and unclear portraits are reported separately.

Notable-people corpora skew older, so hair color over-represents gray and white, and image quality varies. Treat shares as a description of this sample.

These rows are not yet in the published catalog dataset, which currently carries the earlier single-row analysis; see the methodology. A family page exists only when at least 10 portraits carry an assessable value.