Perception of Art: How the Information About the Artwork Influences Our Emotional Response To It
The process of perceiving art was always fascinating to me. While visiting galleries and getting more interested in art history, I often think of how many aspects influence one’s perception and response to the artwork. In fact, such an aspect can be literally anything: from one’s mood and personal background to the location and lighting of the painting in the gallery.
One factor that always makes me especially curious is understanding how the emotional perception of art changes when people get to know more about the painting: its history, the biography of the artist, and the context in which the work was created. To fulfil this curiosity, some years ago I conducted a small research on art perception that led to fascinating results.
During the research, 25 participants were provided with 2 questionaries, each of which included 6 identical artworks and a request to select the emotion provoked by each of the paintings. The only difference was that in the first survey, the works were not even titled, while in the second survey, in addition to their titles, the paintings were also accompanied by some facts from the artist’s life and the history of the painting.
The results were very illustrative! The second survey showed how significantly the emotional response changed and increased when participants got to know something about the painting. Below you can find the paintings presented to the participants. Before reading the results, I also recommend you look at the work and identify the emotion it evokes in you. By doing so, you will be able to witness if, just like for the participants, additional information on the work influenced your emotional reaction.
Allan Ramsay. Infant Son of the Artist. 1741
The predominant response to the work in the 1st survey: tenderness
Additional information that participants got to know in the 2nd survey:
In this painting, the artist depicted his dead son who passed away at the age of 14 months. At that time the rate of infant mortality was very common and such pictures also served as memorials. Later Ramsay described that when he was working on the image of his son the grief was gone. But it came back when he returned to reality.
The predominant response to the work in the second survey: sadness
Christopher Wood. Zebra And Parachute. 1930
The predominant response to the work in the 1st survey: confusion/ambiguity
Additional information that participants got to know in the 2nd survey:
This work became the artist’s last painting. In August 1930, he was going to meet his mother in Salisbury to show her his works. However, he was suffering from the effects of opium withdrawal and had paranoia: it seemed to Wood that he was followed by a mysterious entity. To stop distress, he threw himself under the train.
The predominant response to the work in the second survey: surprise/wonder
Oskar Kokoschka. Bride of the Wind. 1944
The predominant response to the work in the 1st survey: calmness
Additional information that participants got to know in the 2nd survey:
In 1913 Oscar Kokoschka measured the size of his lover’s bed and chose a canvas of the same size to depict her lying near him. Describing his lover Alma Mahler, Kokoschka wrote that there has not been a couple so much in love with each other since the Middle Ages, while Mahler considered him to be ardent yet reckless. Finding out that she was pregnant with the child of the artist, Alma had an abortion without any hesitation. After the work was done, the artist went to the war. At the time he returned home, Alma Mahler got married again. The lovers never saw each other again.
The predominant response to the work in the second survey: sadness
Marc Chagall. The Wedding Candles. 1945
The predominant response to the work in the 1st survey: confusion
Additional information that participants got to know in the 2nd survey:
This work was created soon after the death of the artist’s lover Bella in 1944. It was the most powerful blow for Chagall. During her last few years, Bella worked on her notebooks with memories. One of the notebooks was called “Burning Lights”.Chagall returned to work only in 1945 when he found his old unfinished work in the studio. The work included the image of Bella. The artist finished his work and called it “The Wedding Candles”, referring to Bella’s book. In the picture, Bella, which is represented by the figure of the bride, is moving towards unusual entities descending from above.
The predominant response to the work in the second survey: anxiety
Balthus. Thérèse Dreaming. 1938
The predominant response to the work in the 1st survey: calmness
Additional information that participants got to know in the 2nd survey:
The fame of this work, on which the artist depicted his 12-year-old neighbour, is connected with a scandal around it. The work was displayed in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. In 2017 one of the residents of New York created a petition where she claimed that by making the girl‘s underwear visible the artist romanticised the sexualisation of the child. The petition gathered about 9000 supporters. Even though it was not the first time when the images of children made by Balthus caused controversy, the museum decided to keep the picture on display as the administration noticed that such situations provided an opportunity for discussions.
The predominant response to the work in the second survey: ambiguity
Arnold Böcklin. The Isle of the Dead. 1883
The predominant response to the work in the 1st survey: anxiety
Additional information that participants got to know in the 2nd survey:
In this picture, a Swiss symbolist depicted the isle that looked very much like the English Cemetery in Florence near the studio of the master. In this cemetery, the artist buried his daughter Maria. The place on the painting looks tragically lonely. At the end of the XIX century, the work was significantly popular among other artists and musicians.
The predominant response to the work in the second survey: calmness; anxiety (equaily predominant answers)
I believe this is a beautiful way to interact with art. Next time when you are in a gallery and standing in front of the artwork, do not rush to find and read some information about it. Notice your emotional response. What evokes it? Reflect on it. And only then get to know the context surrounding the work. Trust me, the process of art perception will become more enjoyable and meaningful for you.
The article written based on my university researched paper “Perception of Art: How the Awareness of Background of the Artwork Influences Emotional Evaluation of it” (2021, Vilnius University)
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