The anterior bias in visual art: The case of images of animals

Bertamini, Marco ORCID: 0000-0001-8617-6864, Bennett, Kate M ORCID: 0000-0003-3164-6894 and Bode, Carole ORCID: 0000-0003-1804-8910 (2011) The anterior bias in visual art: The case of images of animals. LATERALITY, 16 (6). pp. 673-689.

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Abstract

Composition is an important topic in visual art. The literature suggests a bias for objects on the right side (Levy, 1976) and two additional biases with respect to positioning of objects within a rectangular frame: a Centre bias and an Inward bias (Palmer, Gardner, & Wickens, 2008). We analysed images of animals from three datasets of works of art: two datasets were from artists well known for their portraits of animals (Bewick, Stubbs) and the third was a medieval bestiary. There was no overall displacement of the subject to the right or to the left of the picture. However, we found a bias consisting of more space in front compared to behind the animal, consistent with Palmer at al.'s findings and with their definition of an Inward bias. Because our animals never face towards the centre we use the term Anterior bias. In addition, we found a modulation of this bias on the basis of the facing direction of the animal, consisting of a stronger Anterior bias for left-facing animals. This asymmetry may originate from a combination of an Anterior bias and a Right bias. Finally, with respect to size we found that the size of the animals predicted the proportion of the picture occupied, an effect known as "canonical size".

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	## TULIP Type: Articles/Papers (Journal) ##
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Visual art, Left-right bias, Symmetry, Canonical size, Thomas Bewick
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	18 Jul 2016 10:48
Last Modified:	19 Jan 2023 07:33
DOI:	10.1080/1357650X.2010.508219
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3002390