"Supporting existing research on the benefits of viewing original artwork versus reproductions, a new study found that seeing authentic art can help drop cortisol levels, among other positive effects on the nervous system. Still in pre-print since its submission last October, "The Physiological Impact of Viewing Original Artworks vs. Reprints: a Comparative Study" was conducted by researchers from the Department of Psychological Medicine at King's College in London working in collaboration with the Courtauld Institute of Art."
"Fifty adults between the ages of 18 and 40 participated in the experimental study - one half was made to view five authentic paintings with their wall labels in a gallery setting for a 20-minute period, while the other half was shown high-quality reproductions of those paintings in a similarly curated setting. All participants had their heart rate and skin temperature monitored, and they provided saliva samples before and after the viewing sessions."
"The selected works (and subsequent reproductions) were all late 19th-century figurative paintings by European artists from the Courtauld's collection: "Jane Avril in the Entrance to the Moulin Rouge" (c. 1892) by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec; "A Bar at the Folies-Berère" (1882) by Édouard Manet; "Banks of the Seine at Argenteuil" (1874) by Édouard Manet; "Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear" (1889) by Vincent van Gogh; and "Te Rerioa (The Dream)" (1897) by Paul Gaugin."
An experiment by King's College London's Department of Psychological Medicine in collaboration with the Courtauld Institute of Art compared viewing original artworks with high-quality reproductions. Fifty adults aged 18 to 40 were split into two groups for 20-minute viewing sessions of five late 19th-century figurative paintings from the Courtauld's collection. Heart rate and skin temperature were continuously monitored, and saliva samples were taken before and after sessions. The authentic-art viewing condition produced reduced cortisol levels and other positive physiological responses linked to nervous-system regulation. The research positions museums and galleries as accessible, non-clinical spaces for preventive health promotion.
Read at Hyperallergic
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