We may be grateful to live in a time where we don’t have to travel all over the world to find out what a particular work of art looks like. At the same time, we may instinctively understand that seeing a work of art in its original form, even the most faithful reproduction, feels different. This includes a 10 billion pixel scan of Johannes Vermeer that we previously featured on Open Culture. girl with a pearl earring — which, coincidentally, is the exact same picture used in. recent scientific research This is an investigation into exactly why we find it so much more interesting to see art in a museum than on a screen or in print.
This research Mauritshuis Museumowns Vermeer’s most famous painting. “Researchers have used electroencephalography (EEG) to reveal the existence of authentic works of art, such as: girl with a pearl earringeliciting a much stronger positive response than the reproductive response.” Museum press release.
“The secret of “Girl”’s charm is also based on a unique neurological phenomenon.Unlike other paintings, she succeeded in “captivating” the viewer with a “sustained attention loop.” I am. This process most clearly stimulates a part of the brain called precuneuswhich is “involved in self-consciousness, introspection, and episodic memory.”
girl with a pearl earring Although it wasn’t the only painting used in the study, it made a much larger and measurable difference in the viewers’ neurological response. Other works including Rembrandt self portrait (1669) and Van Honthorst’s violinist“As with most faces, the visitor first focuses on the girl’s eyes and mouth, then the focus shifts to the pearls, then the focus returns to the eyes and mouth, then the focus shifts to the pearls.” For pearls, etc. ” A museum visitor wearing a brainwave reading headset may not be quite what Walter Benjamin had in mind when he set out to define the “aura” of an original work of art. But over the past 90 years or so, they have given scientific support to this idea. .
Related content:
Why Vermeer? girl with a pearl earring Is it considered a masterpiece?: An animated introduction
10 billion pixels scan of Vermeer’s masterpiece girl with a pearl earring: Explore online
See Vermeer’s complete works in augmented reality: now available on your smartphone with Google
Vermeer’s ingenious improvised copy girl with a pearl earringusing materials you have at home
Guided tour of all of Vermeer’s famous paintings, narrated by Stephen Fry
Artists may have different brains (with more gray matter) than other people, according to a recent scientific study
Based in Seoul, Colin Mbemust write and broadcastIt’s about cities, languages and cultures. His projects include the Substack newsletter books about cities and a book Stateless City: A Stroll Through Los Angeles in the 21st Century. Follow him on Twitter @Colinbemust or facebook.
