Gender's effect on the hemispheric laterality of Rembrandt's portraits.
In 64% of Rembrandt's female portraits the poser's left-cheek faces the viewer. However, this occurs in only 33% of his male portraits. This asymmetry is consistent with viewers rating Rembrandt's left-cheeked male portraits as likely to be avoided, which may reflect that aggressive displays of dominance are governed by the contralateral right-hemisphere, while rating left-cheeked female faces as likely to be approached may indicate sexual attractiveness. Rembrandt's exposed-cheek gender difference paints both sexual selection and dominance as being governed by the right cerebral hemisphere.
Schirillo
James A
JA
Psychology Department, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC 27109, USA. schirija@wfu.edu
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010151:Paintings; D010364:Pattern Recognition, Visual / Q000502:physiology*; D011173:Portraits as Topic; D012737:Sex Factors