Works of Art or Art that Works: A Case Study of ‘Ireland’s Favourite Painting’, 2012- An Aesthetic Response

Anita Vilka
Trinity College Dublin
Department of History of Art and Architecture
2013
BA

Subject: Painting and Stained Glass
Country: Ireland
Period: Various

10,000 words

This dissertation looks at ‘Ireland’s Favourite Painting’ poll, carried out by RTE in 2012, as a case study which offers information on aesthetic response from members of the general public. Since Frederic William Burton’s ‘Meeting on the Turret Stairs’ was voted as the favourite painting, close attention is paid to the visual qualities of the work. In this dissertation, research and discoveries in the fields of psyschology and science take presidents over philosophical approach to aesthetics. This dissertation mainly asks the question of why certain paintings appeal to the public more than others? By considering the research of Yarbus and Landau, their work explores the possibility of experimental aesthetics opening up new horizons for the future approaches to history of art and art appreciation.

Irish Georgian Society

Education Theses Register

Works of Art or Art that Works: A Case Study of ‘Ireland’s Favourite Painting’, 2012- An Aesthetic Response