The Aesthetics of Composition: A Study of Mondrian

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Abstract
Subjects carried out a paired comparison experiment in which they were asked to make a preference judgement between a computer facsimile of an original Mondrian painting, and a modified version of the same picture in which the proportional relations of the compositional lines had been modified by a relatively small amount. Subjects were significantly better than chance expectations in their preference for the original Mondrians, suggesting that these paintings may encapsulate some universal principle of compositional order which can be detected by subjects.