Although this homage painting does not look at all like a Leonardo da Vinci work, the reference here is to an idea found in Leonardo da Vinci’s notebooks, where he encouraged artists to study stains on walls to spark imaginative interpretations. Leonardo’s Wall is a painting that echoes his recommendation. Its title invites viewers to find meaning in the work’s abstract gestures. In other words, when viewers actively engage with this perceptual puzzle they perceive “faces” that are not literal portraits but rather gestural impressions.
The psychological phenomenon associated with this is pareidolia, a concept that refers to a perceptual tendency to impose a meaningful interpretation on a nebulous stimulus; it is usually visual. The result is that one detects an object, pattern, or meaning where there is none. In this case, engaged viewers will perceive faces in abstract patterns, although there are none explicitly painted.
Oil painting on Canvas. Unframed. Signed on the back. Packed carefully for shipment.Includes a certificate of authenticity signed by the artist.
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Amy Ione
Title: Leonardo’s Wall (Faces)
Date: 2018
Medium: Oil on canvas
Dimensions: 24x20x.5 inches.
Catalog Number: 31812
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For Leonardo’s drawings/studies of the brain, see my book Art and the Brain: Plasticity, Embodiment, and the Unclosed Circle
For more on Leonardo’s writings about expressiveness and the Deaf, see Neuroscience and Art: The Neurocultural Landscape (Neurocultural Health and Wellbeing)
For my reviews of studies on Leonardo, see:
Leonardo da Vinci: A film by Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon. Premiered Nov. 18 and 19 on WPBS-TV and PBS. Film Review by Amy Ione. More information about streaming is here.
Leonardo da Vinci: An Untraceable Life by Stephen Campbell. Review by Amy Ione.