Munar and colleagues share that “Many studies have shown that humans and other species usually prefer curved to sharp-angled contours. . . . Our objective in this study was to test whether the effect of preference for curvature can be extended to the art domain in an ecologically valid setting. We conducted two studies using original artworks exhibited in a museum context. Stimuli consisted of a series of 48 paintings divided into 16 sets with three versions in each set: one curved, one sharp-angled, and one mixed, while color, size and style were controlled for across each set. . . . results showed that participants looked at the curved paintings from a closer distance than the sharp-angled paintings, which we used as an implicit measure of approachability. Participants also liked and wanted the curved paintings significantly more than the sharp-angled paintings.”

E. Munar, E. Chuquichambi, N. Ruta, A. Dorado, C. Rey, and R. Pepperell. “Preference for Curvature in Paintings Extends to Museum Context.”  Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, in press, https://doi.org/10.1037/aca0000601