There are many ways to view and admire art. A viewer may be interested in the colors used by the artist, another in the symbolism of the work, and a third in the representation of nude bodies. Knowledge, experiences, and interests guide the viewer's attention. Each of us carries experiences and expectations that greatly influence what we perceive from a work of art, what emotions it evokes in us, and, ultimately, how we evaluate it.
Moreover, there is still much to understand in order to interpret the great and enigmatic effect that art has on humanity. However, the knowledge gained from the rapid development of neuroscience now allows the correlation of artistic creation and the perception of art with brain activity. Questions such as how the brain, itself a product of the slow process of evolution, reaches effortlessly to the essence, to the stable characteristics of the world, and leads art down the same path can today find satisfactory answers.
The fear that such scientific analyses threaten the magic and poetic nature of works of art is likely unfounded and unjustified. Knowledge of the brain enhances our sense of beauty and the awe that its astonishing achievements provoke in us, and allows us to admire not only the works but also the organ that creates them. After all, most people have not ceased to admire the rainbow despite understanding the physical conditions of its existence, nor have they stopped admiring Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa even though they may know the colors the artist used and other technical details about the work.
The goal is not to demystify artistic creation, but to sharpen intuition and enrich experience. There is a pervasive optimism in the field of neuroscience that we will soon have even more satisfactory answers to these issues. Let us share this optimism and consider the book at hand as our own modest contribution to this fascinating field.
[Excerpt from the text on the back cover of the edition]
