To date, virtual reality technology has been promoting a new concept of museums and exhibition spaces dedicated to art in the virtual dimension.

These spaces, designed to exploit the potential of VR, operate on multiple levels of perception, engaging various sensory activities and offering an immersive experience that goes beyond mere contemplation of the artwork.

 Can a virtual artistic experience replace a real one?

A neuroaesthetic study conducted by BrainSigns in collaboration with Vincenza Ferrara’s Lab of Art and Medical Humanities and Professor Maurizio Forte from Duke University analyzed the differences in the experience of observing the Sarcophagus of the Spouses, an ancient Etruscan terracotta funerary artifact dating back to between 530 and 520 BC.

The research compared two distinct contexts: the live observation of the artifact at the National Etruscan Museum of Villa Giulia in Rome, and the virtual experience in the Art and Medical Humanities Laboratory of the Faculty of Pharmacy and Medicine at the University of Rome “La Sapienza.”

To analyze the data, researchers used EEG technology to assess cognitive engagement and interest, along with devices to measure heart rate and galvanic skin response to evaluate emotional states. The devices were provided by BrainSigns together with the results of a short questionnaire.

Regarding neuro indicators cognitive engagement was higher during the museum observation compared to the laboratory setting, as was the emotional index. However, the interest index showed higher values in the virtual context.

In the questionnaires, the virtual reality experience was rated as significantly more familiar.

While observing the Sarcophagus of the Spouses in the museum evokes deep emotions, thanks in part to the evocative atmosphere of the museum setting, it is interesting to note that the virtual experience stands out for being more engaging and, as highlighted in the questionnaires, more familiar.

This may also be attributed to the fact that the details of the environment appear sharper and more accessible, free from physical barriers such as display cases in museums. In some ways, the VR experience feels more intimate and exclusive.

Article written in collaboration with some students of the degree course Biomedical Scientific Communication at the Sapienza University of Rome with reference to: 

Giorgi, A., Menicocci, S., Forte, M., Ferrara, V., Mingione, M., Alaimo Di Loro, P., Inguscio, B. M. S., Ferrara, S., Babiloni, F., Vozzi, A., Ronca, V., Cartocci, G. (2023). Virtual and Reality: A Neurophysiological Pilot Study of the Sarcophagus of the Spouses. Brain Sciences. 13. 635. 10.3390/brainsci13040635.