Viewing an original artwork up close stimulates the brain 10 times more than seeing a printed reproduction, according to an independent neurological study commissioned by the Mauritshuis Museum in The Hague and conducted by a team of researchers.
Scientists showed 20 volunteers, aged 21 to 65, five original artworks from the museum, followed by their corresponding prints while tracking their eye movements and brain activity using specialized equipment. They found that the brain’s precuneus, a region associated with consciousness, self-reflection, and memories, responded more strongly and positively to the original artworks than the prints.
Among the five artworks shown to the volunteers, Johannes Vermeer’s “Girl with a Pearl Earring” stimulated their brains the most.
The museum director said she had long known from experience that there’s a difference in how an original artwork makes us feel compared to a poster. “We all sense the difference – but is it measurable? Is it real?” she recalled asking her colleagues a year ago. “Today, we can confidently say that it is real.”
The researchers also analyzed how the volunteers viewed “Girl with a Pearl Earring,” noting that their gaze consistently followed a triangular pattern: from the closest eye to the mouth to the girl’s pearl earring.
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