Perceptual organization in visual art

Visual art might be defined through a double intentionality, involving a specific artist and any number of unspecified observers. No physical object is intrinsically a work of art. Art works have a stratified structure, from mere marks to representations. Questions of organization thus have to be approach on a number on ontologically distinct levels. Such an abstract approach can be applied to very different works of art. Here examples of ornamental patterns, fashion, sculpture, and easel painting are discussed in some detail. Of special interest to the psychology of perception is Sir Ernst Gombrich’s notion of the ‘beholder’s share’. The importance has been understood by artists since early times (Pliny the Younger, Leonardo, and John Ruskin proving key historical landmarks), although the explicit use as a main theme is only recent.