Painting Restoration and the Eye of the Beholder: A Mobile Eye-Tracking Study at the Unterlinden Museum

Abstract

Art historical literature has often discussed the impact of painting restorations on viewers. Although many theoretical hypotheses have been proposed regarding the effect of restoration on the beholder’s eye, little empirical research has addressed this topic. This study aimed to fill this gap by investigating whether painting restoration has a meaningful influence on the visual perception of art viewers at the eye-movement level. Specifically, the study designed a mobile eye-tracking study in an ecologically valid setting — the art museum — to investigate the effects of restoration on ten panels from the Isenheim Altarpiece (1512–1516) by Matthias Grünewald, currently displayed at the Unterlinden Museum in France. In this study, 86 museum visitors looked at paintings while wearing eye-tracking glasses before ( n = 43) and after ( n = 43) restoration. The following measures were analyzed: (1) Total Viewing Time; (2) Duration of the First Fixation; (3) Relative Fixation Count; (4) Fixation Heat Maps; (5) Time to First Fixation in areas of interest (AOIs). The results suggested that Relative Fixation Count significantly increased after restoration. Conversely, the Total Viewing Time and Duration of the First Fixation did not seem to be significantly affected by restoration. The Heat Maps suggested a broader visual inspection of the images and a more explorative gaze pattern after restoration. Moreover, the Time to First Fixation in AOIs significantly decreased after restoration. These findings provide the first empirical evidence of the impact of restoration on the visual perception of genuine paintings as opposed to reproductions observed in a museum.