Can a baby appreciate art? We cannot expect great criticism, but at least we know that babies prefer Picasso to Monet. A recent study reveals that Babies are able to value a work of art with a logical and rational criteria, looking at certain characteristics of the paintings.
And that exposed to certain paintings and styles, they prefer the cubist Pablo Picasso over the impressionist Claude Monet. No wonder, then, that his first drawings are closer to the Picassian style ...
The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Zurich, led by psychologist Trix Cachionne, shows that for nine-month-old babies, painting and color of a canvas is the most important visual pattern, much more than other features of the work .
In one of the experiments the children were divided into two groups. The first group was shown a series of works by Picasso, and the other, some samples of Monet. Immediately, the research team perceived that the young participants (sitting on their parents' lap) they spent more time observing Picasso's colorful painting, instead of Monet's work.
According to the researchers, babies attend to "bold colors, strong contrasts and the presence of figurative objects, such as objects." Even babies opted for the more muted work of the Spanish artist, black and white works where the contours and shapes were blurred.
The key to this choice is that Picasso uses contrasts and emphasizes especially in the treatment of light, while Monet, on the contrary, despite using bright and vivid colors creates blurry and unintelligible effects.
It seems logical that babies prefer the most basic and essential visual information to look at a work, and Picasso's paintings are easier to process, it stimulates them more visually.
But as babies grow, their artistic preferences will evolve, becoming more complex thanks also to the perceptual visual development, and will understand and appreciate the most diverse artists and styles.
