What is it about Picasso? infants' categorical and discriminatory abilities in the visual arts

Abstract

Research on infants’ early development of aesthetic perception has focused on their ability to discriminate and evaluate auditory stimuli such as musical intervals or faces differing along their level of attractiveness. However, infants’ discriminatory and evaluative responses in the domain of the visual arts have, as of today, not been examined. Artistic paintings are complex visual stimuli. Multiple cues such as color, style of brushing, common subjects, and others must be considered to discriminate and evaluate paintings from different artists. The authors examined infants’ visual attention to works of 2 painters, namely Picasso and Monet. Results suggest that infants discriminate and categorize different paintings but that they display a spontaneous preference for paintings by Picasso.