O/T: Rembrandt was cross-eyed
FinleyJones
Catriona Purcell
ABC Science Online
Thursday, 16 September 2004
Renowned 17th century Dutch artist Rembrandt may have been cross-eyed,
according to U.S. researchers.
They say this form of stereoblindness, which occurs when someone's eyes are not
aligned when looking at an object, would have affected his ability to perceive
depth.
Professor Margaret Livingstone, from Harvard Medical School, and colleague
outline their research in today's issue of the New England Journal of Medicine.
Rembrandt was a prolific painter of self-portraits, producing almost 100,
including some 20 etchings.
When the Harvard researchers mapped the direction of Rembrandt's gaze in 36
self-portraits, he was cross-eyed in 35.
When people generally use the term cross-eyed they mean when both eyes look
inwards, towards the nose. But cross-eyed in medical terms can have other
meanings.
Rembrandt was cross-eyed, the scientists said, but had a unilateral strabismus,
when one eye looks straight ahead while the other deviates sideways.
Stereopsis, or good depth perception, requires both eyes to be precisely
aligned when looking at an object.
Because the same eye in 23 of 24 oil paintings and 12 etchings was depicted
looking outwards it suggested the detail was not random and added weight to the
theory that Rembrandt was stereoblind, said Livingstone.
But being stereoblind has its benefits. The condition may help artists trying
to produce the three-dimensional world on a flat canvas, she said.
"Art teachers often instruct students to close one eye in order to flatten what
they see," Livingstone wrote.
"Therefore, stereoblindness might not be a handicap, and might even be an
asset, for some artists."
Eye problem, what problem?
Australian senior lecturer in art history and theory, Dr Jennifer Milam, from
the University of Sydney, is not convinced Rembrandt had an eye problem.
Many factors may have influenced Rembrandt to paint his eyes looking in
different directions including portraiture-painting practices of the period,
she said.
"Having two eyes staring at you is quite intimidating so it may have been for
stylistic reasons he painted his eyes that way," Milam said.
"You would not only need to look at how Rembrandt painted eyes in his self
portraits, but also his portraits of other people, portraits by his students as
well as his contemporaries to rule out the practices of the time."
Laurie Benson, assistant curator of international art at Melbourne's National
Gallery of Victoria, said it was difficult to believe one of the greatest
illusionist painters and landscape artists would have had poor depth
perception.
"One would imagine his landscapes would have been very flat if that was the
case," Benson said. "But that certainly isn't the case with Rembrandt."