How Monet's masterpieces manipulate our brain: Scientists reveal what makes the art 'trick' our eyes

Dailymail.com ^ | 18:37 EST, 4 January 2019 | Annie Palmer

[BenLurkin]

'With each of the paintings in the series, Monet manipulates viewer perception in a way that scientists at the time did not completely understand,' the university explained.

The study 'provides insight into the complexity of the visual system, illuminating Monet's processes and the intricacies of his work,' they added.

Monet's series shows the Waterloo Bridge amid the landscape and atmosphere of its surroundings, including the swirling fog, soft light and mist.

The researchers noted that each painting uses a very limited color palette, yet, somehow it appears unique every time.

The answer to why each work of art appears different may lie in how our eyes take in wavelengths of light.

The retinas in our eyes are made up of three different types of cones, including blue, which picks up on short wavelengths of light, green, which is sensitive to medium-wavelength light and red, which is sensitive to long wavelengths of light, according to the University of Rochester.

Once our retinas process this information, it then travels to the visual cortex in the back of the brain, which then transmits it to 'higher-level parts of the brain,' such as those that deal with memory and experience, the University of Rochester noted.

Monet manipulates our perception further by painting 3D scenes on a 2D surface.

What's more, he uses contrasting brush strokes to confuse how our brains interpret each color.

[V K Lee]

Ping

[Does so]

Isn’t Seafoam Green a Volkswagen Beetle color?

[Does so]

I’m sure Monet wasn’t thinking about the science of vision when he painted.

He was thinking of making Monet?

;)

[pfflier]

Maybe but it was also a color on the interior of every US military facility in my memory.

[LonePalm]

He was thinking of making Monet?

Count de Money.

Do I really need to say it?

WWG1WGA

Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et Toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and Forever!)
LonePalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)

[Veto!]

So, just who is it that anoints painters and authors and actors as the flavor of the day?

Excellent question. The ins and outs of who garners favor in the art world is pretty Byzantine. Wealthy museum donors who want their names known make a lot of these calls, guided by museum directors pussyfooting around them, doing their bidding in order to get another wing built. Here's a good article: https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/12/arts/art-is-it-art-is-it-good-and-who-says-so.html

Movies and theatre are sexual favors/money driven too. Publishing, which I was in for 20 years, is less so, if at all.

And all of these "businesses" depend on talented artists, actors, writers. Spotting a writer whose work will appeal to a million people is it's own talent. High-level editor-in-chief types make huge money too.

[MayflowerMadam]

“Anyone who is nearsighted can attest to the fuzziness of the world without glasses.”

Since early childhood until age 66 when I had cataract surgery, my vision was 20/400 — worse, but the doc said they didn’t bother to measure beyond that. A most beautiful sight was to see a lit Christmas tree without my glasses. (But everything else about my vision totally sucked!) Hooray for modern medicine!

[poconopundit]

Perhaps Monet's technique is less "visual science" than realizing "less is more". The Japanese haiku is only 17 syllables long, but the best haikus tell us just enough about the natural scene to evoke the reader's mind and maybe teach us something about life. I've often thought, "Wouldn't it be great to fill the house with some paintings I won't get tired of."  But if a painting merely copies reality, then the scene being copied must be something spectacular ( the Grand Canyon) to continue to entertain.  However one look at the black and white photo of Waterloo Bridge at right is enough for me. Monet's Impressionist view of the bridge brings it to life again in a new way.  By giving our imagination free play to insert our own details, Monet's Bridge at Waterloo becomes a somewhat different painting each time we look at it. Impressionist art, then, is Imaginatist art.

[exDemMom]

Interesting. I did not know that cataract surgery could fix nearsightedness.

[MayflowerMadam]

“I did not know that cataract surgery could fix nearsightedness.”

Oh, yeah. I’m now 20/20 in one eye and 20/25 in the other. I use reading glasses for close work, but everyone doesn’t. Mom’s 94 and she never wears any glasses. Ditto for one of my quilting ladies. Medicare pays for basic lenses, but I went up to the toric. There’s one “level” higher, which will also correct for reading. (I believe just the basic lenses will fix nearsightedness also, but am not positive about that.)

[exDemMom]

That is amazing. Congratulations on your improved eyesight.

[MayflowerMadam]

“Congratulations on your improved eyesight.”

I actually cried as we drove out of the eye surgeon’s parking lot after my first eye was done. I could see leaves on trees. I couldn’t really see trees before that.