John Onians on Neuroarthistory: Merging Neuroscience and Art History

British art historian John Onians, professor emeritus at the University of East Anglia, pioneered Neuroarthistory, a method that applies neuroscience discoveries to art history. His books 'Neuroarthistory: From Aristotle and Pliny to Baxandall and Zeki' (2008) and 'European Art: A Neuroarthistory' (2017) lay out the approach. Neuroarthistory uses brain scanning and knowledge of neural plasticity and mirroring to explain art creation and perception across all cultures and eras. Onians argues that the nervous system evolved for physical movement, not just thought, making art viscerally tied to survival. The method challenges traditional art history's focus on language and rationality, emphasizing individual neural formation shaped by genetics and personal experience. Onians developed the approach to overcome Eurocentrism, as neuroscience principles are universal. He recommends that practitioners become aware of their own neural history to better understand artists' mental processes.