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Chirality - the left and right halves of the face

bungeejumper
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Chirality - the left and right halves of the face

#351593

Postby bungeejumper » October 29th, 2020, 9:38 am

I'm working on trying to improve my portrait painting at the moment - I'm dabbling mostly in oils - and the other day I came across the rather intriguing claim that the majority of classic portraits are done with the primary light source coming from the left side of the sitter. (i.e. from the right side if you're the viewer.)

No further explanation was offered at the time. But a quick spin through the images from great museums seems to suggest that it's true, more often than not. Portraits with the light to the left of the sitter tend to look more sincere and empathetic; portraits with the light to the right look sombre, serious and perhaps a little bit dodgy or insincere.

I wondered at first whether it might be connected with the dominant right-handedness of the human race? But psychology says it's because our left faces convey our true feelings, while our right faces convey whatever it is we'd like people to see in our expressions. Something to do with the way the left brain is better at logical thinking while the right brain is better at empathy and communication. Except that, maddeningly, the two sides of the face are swapped over when it comes to our expressions! :|

As far as I know, this "chirality" of the face is a kosher, physiologically confirmed phenomenon that mirrors a lot of other stuff we already know about how the brain works. But what do you think?

For starters: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog ... y-the-face. More fun stuff about murderers' mug shots at https://www.quora.com/Does-facial-asymm ... nformation

(Photographers, I'm told, often prefer "butterfly" lighting where the nose casts a symmetrical downward shadow so that no bias enters the composition. Comments on that point as well, please?)

BJ

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Re: Chirality - the left and right halves of the face

#351654

Postby marronier » October 29th, 2020, 11:13 am

If you have a full-face photograph and take a hand mirror , then first reflect one side then the other , you will notice two different appearances. This is due to the genes of the parents . Usually , the left side will display a softer appearance than the right side , which will often seem to have a harder look. Everyone has a slight facial asymmetry that increases over time.

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Re: Chirality - the left and right halves of the face

#351659

Postby NomoneyNohoney » October 29th, 2020, 11:28 am


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Re: Chirality - the left and right halves of the face

#352021

Postby XFool » October 30th, 2020, 7:46 pm

bungeejumper wrote:As far as I know, this "chirality" of the face is a kosher, physiologically confirmed phenomenon that mirrors a lot of other stuff we already know about how the brain works. But what do you think?

Is it "kosher"? It is that people are generally not facially symmetrical, but what about these psychological conclusions?


"We are often confronted with a facial expression that makes us feel uncomfortable or we sense there is something wrong."

I have to confess, I got an uncomfortable feeling of "something wrong" as I read this article. :)

"Here is another example. Drew Peterson was arrested for the disappearance of his ex-wife Kathleen Savio (wife #3) and was later convicted. "

"When we cover up the left side of his face the right side displays what some people claim is contempt, a sneer, arrogance, or haughtiness. It may also be “narcissistic glee,”"

Um... Sounds like a possible case of over-interpretation to me! "some people claim" - did these people know who he was?

"Chirality of the face is one more thing that can help us determine true emotions, feelings, or thoughts."

Yes? But how; from the left side or the right side? Or both or neither? How do we know which of these is the "true" emotion? Is it always the same side with everyone? Perhaps both sides are "true", or only the whole face is "true"? Then again, are these emotions those of the person being looked at, or of the person doing the looking? Lacking hard evidence I'm sceptical of all this.

Sorry, I can't help you with the art. :(

GrahamPlatt
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Re: Chirality - the left and right halves of the face

#352025

Postby GrahamPlatt » October 30th, 2020, 8:45 pm

Smacks a little of phrenology.


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