Neuroscience measures emotional impact of Caravaggio at Gallerie d'Italia

Gallerie d'Italia and Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center conducted a neuroscience experiment to measure visitors' emotional responses to artworks. In December, at the Piazza Scala venue in Milan, neuromarketing firm TSW analyzed thirty visitors' psychophysiological reactions—eye movements, central and peripheral nervous system activation—while viewing four paintings from the exhibition "L'ultimo Caravaggio. Eredi e nuovi maestri" (on view until April 8). The works included three versions of the Martyrdom of Saint Ursula by Caravaggio, Bernardo Strozzi, and Giulio Cesare Procaccini, plus Procaccini's Last Supper. Using eye-tracking glasses, an EEG headset, and a galvanic skin response bracelet, researchers found Caravaggio's Martyrdom of Saint Ursula elicited the highest pleasure response, while Procaccini's Last Supper generated the strongest engagement. The study's conclusions aim to help curators optimize exhibition layouts: placing high-impact works at the start (primacy effect) and end (recency effect) to enhance memory retention. Eye-tracking data could also inform audio guide content, highlighting less-noticed but revealing details. Mario Costantini, Director of Intesa Sanpaolo Innovation Center, stated: "Art moves people's passions like nothing else. With Gallerie d'Italia we chose a complex and fascinating technological challenge: decoding the emotions that a work of art generates in its viewers."