About the Role of Perceptual Psychology in Art History

Abstract Numerous challenges that arise in the field of art history require recourse to expertise in perceptual psychology. In addition to explaining the meaning that people attach to individual works of art and their content, the effect that arises in the recipient is essential to deciding whether the work of art could adequately represent a statement. In addition, with in-depth knowledge of the human act of perception, it is easier to understand what people can and cannot process, when, and how. Art and perception have always formed a unity, as a work of art has no meaning without perception. Artists often acted as intuitive psychologists who understood very well how human perception works and how certain effects can be achieved. Accordingly, art history, which is dedicated to art from a historical perspective, requires precisely this expertise in a systematic manner to adequately depict, describe, and explain the dimension of perception. The following programmatic paper aims to make clear why both disciplines should work closely together and shows what such fruitful paths of joint work could look like.