Abstract
Troxler fading, the perceptual disappearance of stationary images upon sustained fixation, is common for objects with equivalent luminance to that of the background. Previous work showed that variations in microsaccadic rates underlie the perceptual vanishing and intensification of simple stimuli, such as Gabor patches. Here, we demonstrate that microsaccade dynamics also contribute to Troxler fading and intensification during the viewing of representational art. Participants fixated a small spot while viewing either a Gabor patch on a blank background, or Monet’s painting “Impression, Sunrise.” They continuously reported, via button press/release, whether the Gabor patch, or the sun in Monet’s painting, was fading versus intensifying, while their eye movements were recorded with high precision. Microsaccade rates peaked before reports of increased visibility, and dropped before reports of decreased visibility or fading, both when viewing Gabor patches and Monet’s sun. These results reveal that the relationship between microsaccade production and the reversal and prevention of Troxler fading applies not only to the viewing of contrived stimuli, but also to the observation of “Impression, Sunrise.” Whether or not perceptual fading was consciously intended by Monet, our findings indicate that observers’ oculomotor dynamics are a contributor to the cornerstone of Impressionism.
Highlights
“Impression, Sunrise,” created by the French painter Claude Monet in 1872, is credited with inspiring the name of the Impressionist movement
This hypothesis is supported by prior reports that Troxler fading, the perceptual disappearance of stationary images upon sustained fixation, is quite common for peripheral objects with equivalent luminance to that of the b ackground[3,4,5,6]
No previous studies have quantified the temporal dynamics of perceptual fading in “Impression, Sunrise,” or determined their potential relationship to ongoing fixational eye movements
Summary
“Impression, Sunrise,” created by the French painter Claude Monet in 1872, is credited with inspiring the name of the Impressionist movement. Safran and Landis suggested that such fading—and subsequent filling-in—of Monet’s sun is due to the phenomenon known as Troxler fading. This hypothesis is supported by prior reports that Troxler fading, the perceptual disappearance of stationary images upon sustained fixation, is quite common for peripheral objects with equivalent luminance to that of the b ackground[3,4,5,6]. No previous studies have quantified the temporal dynamics of perceptual fading in “Impression, Sunrise,” or determined their potential relationship to ongoing fixational eye movements. Of Monet’s sun constitutes an instantiation of Troxler fading in the art domain It would indicate the relevance of observers’ fixational eye movement dynamics to their experience of Monet’s masterpiece
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