#Psychological portraiture free#

We predicted that, in spite of this centring norm, European portrait paintings would tend to display this forward bias. This evidence, however, presents a particularly apt testing ground since, in the European tradition, thereРІР‚в„ўs been a strong cultural norm in portrait painting in favour of centring the sitter in the frame. Our decision to resort to data from that particular tradition was largely based on its unique availability and richness.

#Psychological portraiture free#

To test this forward bias hypothesis, we looked at 1,831 profile portraits by 582 European painters from the 15th to the 20th century, and measured the free space in front of the sitters and behind them. One effect of that greater compositional freedom was to strengthen the forward bias in profile portraits We predicted that, in painting such portraits, artists would have a РІР‚Вforward biasРІР‚в„ў, that is, a tendency to leave more space in front of the sitters than behind them. With Miton and Hernik, we speculated that this adaptive disposition to pay particular attention to what agents have in front of them might subtly influence one type of cultural production, namely profile portraits. Even an infant spontaneously perceives humans and nonhuman animals as having a front and a back, and relies on this to anticipate what they might do next, as Hernik demonstrated in an earlier study, co-authored with the clinical psychologist Pasco Fearon and the cognitive scientist Gergely Csibra. Hence, if youРІР‚в„ўre watching another human or a nonhuman animal and you want to understand their thoughts and predict their actions, it makes sense to attend to what might be happening in front of them rather than behind them. Many animals including humans perceive better and pay more attention to whatРІР‚в„ўs in front of them. This body plan is strongly correlated with the direction in which they typically move: forward. Most animals are bilaterians: they have a right and a left side, and a front and a back. What inspired our research was a general zoological observation of no obvious relevance to art history, let alone to portrait painting. What helped me better understand the effect produced by this composition was the research led by the cognitive scientist Helena Miton (and to which the cognitive developmental psychologist MikoР•вЂљaj Hernik and I contributed): РІР‚ВA Forward Bias in Human Profile-Oriented PortraitsРІР‚в„ў (2020). The spatial composition of the picture contributes, I want to argue, to its poignancy, and it does so in part because of an evolved psychological disposition, a disposition that humans are likely to share with many other animals. This picture elicits a sense of empathy for this humble worker who seems to be enjoying his rest but to have little else to look forward to. The man sitting on the milestone occupies the right half and is facing the edge of the frame rather than its centre. The composition of the picture is peculiar: the left half, behind the manРІР‚в„ўs back, is occupied by a meagre leafless shrub, nondescript houses in the distance, and the broom on the ground. His face is illuminated by a late-afternoon sun after a rainy day, but his expression is cheerless. Significantly, the man is facing in the opposite direction. An arrow on the milestone indicates the direction of Paris and the distance: 4.1 kilometres. The engraving Le Cantonnier (1881) below depicts a roadman, or a road sweeper, sitting on a milestone, his arms crossed, his broom on the ground behind him.

Jean-FranР“В§ois RaffaР“В«lli (1850-1924) did his best work painting or drawing the modest inhabitants of the suburbs of Paris, where he himself lived for a time.