Perception key to art’s true value

Oxford University academics found that the brain responds differently to artwork depending on whether it is said to be authentic, or merely a good imitation.

For the research, 14 people were placed in a brain scanner and shown images of Rembrandt portraits, some of which were authentic and some of which were convincing fakes created by different artists.

While their brain signals showed they could not differentiate between the real and fake work, the response altered significantly depending on whether they were told it was a genuine Rembrandt or not.

Professor Martin Kemp, Emeritus Professor of the History of Art at Oxford University, said: “Our findings support what art historians, critics and the general public have long believed – that it is always better to think we are seeing the genuine article.”

The findings of the study have been published in the Frontiers in Human Neuroscience journal.