Specifically, it is an investigation into the neurological, physiological, and neurobiological bases of what happens in the brain when we see works of art. For example, a face in a painting may be categorized by a viewer as a sad face, thus providing knowledge about the painting. Vision, therefore, is an active process, not just a passive one in which light shines on the retina of the eye. Another example given is a picture with rings with black and white lines, which evoke perceived rapid motion in the viewer. There is no actual motion on the surface of the art work.
Further discussion revolves around aesthetic and emotional responses to art work.
Without realizing it, artists understand something about the neural organization of the visual pathways, because they know how to work and re-work a painting until it achieves a desirable effect and it pleases them. Thus, without knowing about the details of the complexities of the pathways of vision, artists appear to have an understanding of how they work, and how to use them. Works of artists including Rembrandt, Michelangelo, Vermeer, Magritte, Picasso, Cezanne, Matisse, Monet, as well as others, are featured. This is an intellectually stimulating discussion that would be of interest to cognitive scientists, artists, art critics and historians, philosophers, and eye care practitioners, especially those interested in perception. While it is less directly clinically applicable, the discussions are useful in appreciating the complexities of vision.