An Oblique Effect in the Selection of Line Orientation by Twentieth Century Painters

Abstract

In 88 paintings from the Israel Museum, Jerusalem the proportions of horizontal, vertical, and oblique lines were determined in order to ascertain whether artists preferentially use lines orientated in the horizontal and vertical directions rather than the oblique. Frame orientations were also examined to determine their effect on these line orientations. The results showed a preference for the vertical and the horizontal over the oblique. This effect was very robust, occurring with both landscape and portrait formats and over a variety of different styles and categories of paintings. There was also an interaction between line orientation and frame orientation with an increased use of vertical lines with portrait format paintings and an increased use of horizontal lines with landscape format. It is suggested that the basic finding of an orientation anisotropy in line selection is related to the oblique effect in line perception, the finding that horizontal and vertical lines are more readily perceived than oblique lines in a wide variety of situations. This supports the idea that stimuli like horizontal and vertical lines, which are preferentially processed by the visual system, are also aesthetically more powerful.