Following the Eyes of the Masters: Looking and Liking are Linked

Portrait artists claim that their choices with regard to textural detail guide the viewing experience and hence the artistic appreciation of the finished work. We tested these claims in experiments where eye gaze was monitored while viewers considered the relative artistic merit of a series of portraits. The portraits included both famous masterpieces and new portraits rendered from photographs using a parameterized nonphotorealistic technique to mimic Rembrandt (DiPaola, 2007). The findings have implications for understanding both human vision science and visual art. Portrait artists claim that their choices with regard to textural detail guide the viewing experience and hence the artistic appreciation of the finished work. We tested these claims in experiments where eye gaze was monitored while viewers considered the relative artistic merit of a series of portraits. The portraits included both famous masterpieces and new portraits rendered from photographs using a parameterized nonphotorealistic technique to mimic Rembrandt (DiPaola, 2007). The findings have implications for understanding both human vision science and visual art.