Science uncovers how the brain interprets artistic beauty – new research

By Deniz Vatansever, Research Professor, Fudan University; University of Cambridge
Emmanuel A Stamatakis, Lead, Cognition and Consciousness Imaging Group, Division of Anaesthesia, University of Cambridge
Xinyu Liang, Visiting Researcher, University of Cambridge; Fudan University

Stand in front of Turner’s Sun Rising Over Water (1825-30) and something odd tends to happen. The painting holds you, even though observers might struggle to say why. Maybe it is the colour, the balance, the composition, or the strange stillness the artwork seems to carry.

Whatever it is, you feel it long before you can explain why. And the stranger next to you, looking at the same canvas with the same awe in their eyes, very likely feels it too.

We often say that…

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