Loading...
Why did Rubens add a parrot to Titian's The Fall of Man? A pictorial manipulation of joint attention
Alexander, Robert G. Venkatakrishnan, Ashwin Chanovas, Jordi Ferguson, Sophie Macknik, Stephen L. Martinez-Conde, Susana
Alexander, Robert G.
Venkatakrishnan, Ashwin
Chanovas, Jordi
Ferguson, Sophie
Macknik, Stephen L.
Martinez-Conde, Susana
Citations
Altmetric:
Journal Title
Journal of Vision
Keywords
Readers/Advisors
Journal Title
Term and Year
Publication Date
2024-04-01
Type
Book Title
Publication Volume
24
Publication Issue
4
Publication Begin
1
Publication End
Number of pages
Collections
Files
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Abstract
Almost 400 years ago, Rubens copied Titian's The Fall of Man, albeit with important changes. Rubens altered Titian's original composition in numerous ways, including by changing the gaze directions of the depicted characters and adding a striking red parrot to the painting. Here, we quantify the impact of Rubens's choices on the viewer's gaze behavior. We displayed digital copies of Rubens's and Titian's artworks-as well as a version of Rubens's painting with the parrot digitally removed-on a computer screen while recording the eye movements produced by observers during free visual exploration of each image. To assess the effects of Rubens's changes to Titian's composition, we directly compared multiple gaze parameters across the different images. We found that participants gazed at Eve's face more frequently in Rubens's painting than in Titian's. In addition, gaze positions were more tightly focused for the former than for the latter, consistent with different allocations of viewer interest. We also investigated how gaze fixation on Eve's face affected the perceptual visibility of the parrot in Rubens's composition and how the parrot's presence versus its absence impacted gaze dynamics. Taken together, our results demonstrate that Rubens's critical deviations from Titian's painting have powerful effects on viewers' oculomotor behavior.
Citation
Alexander RG, Venkatakrishnan A, Chanovas J, Ferguson S, Macknik SL, Martinez-Conde S. Why did Rubens add a parrot to Titian's The Fall of Man? A pictorial manipulation of joint attention. J Vis. 2024 Apr 1;24(4):1. doi: 10.1167/jov.24.4.1. PMID: 38558160; PMCID: PMC10996941.