Vision and Art: The Biology of Seeing

Neurobiologist Margaret Livingstone addresses these and many other questions in Vision and Art, a lively look at the science underlying art. She writes accessibly, but with plenty of technical depth, on such matters as the nature of light and the visible spectrum, the organization of visual-image processing, the structure of the vertebrate eye and brain, and individual and culturally conditioned perceptions of color. Using well-known works of art as case studies, she offers fascinating bits of trivia (on, for instance, how pastels are made and why purple dyes are so rare) alongside practical information for artists (for example, how high-contrast contours and evenly distributed luminance attract the eye).

The result is a literate, lucid blend of art and science that will appeal to artists and connoisseurs alike. --Gregory McNamee

Product Description
In his foreword to Harvard neurobiologist Margaret Livingstone's groundbreaking Vision and Art, Nobel prize-winner David Hubel expresses the hope that, "In the future, visual neurobiology will enhance art in much the same way as a knowledge of bones and muscles has for centuries enhanced the ability of artists to portray the human body." The future begins with this book, which demonstrates that how we see art depends ultimately on the cells in our eyes and our brains. Livingstone offers a comprehensive account of the biology of vision, drawing on the history of science and her own cutting-edge discoveries. She explains lucidly how the eye and brain translate different wavelengths of light into the colors and forms of the world around us. She then turns to art and explains the science underlying various phenomena in painting, using many examples-from the mystery of the allure of the Mona Lisa to the amazing atmospheric effects of the Impressionists-to illustrate her points. Her book will arm artists with new techniques that they can use in their own craft and thrill any reader with an interest in the biology of human vision.

The author gets to the structure of our visual systems, makes them very clear, and tells us things that are lasting and verifiable. Her spirit of personal experimentation shows in the book, and makes us think that looking inquisitively at the world will pay off.