Large-Scale Analysis of Art Proportions

Abstract

Abstract. While literature often tries to impute mathematical constants into art, this large-scale study (11 databases of paintings and photos, around 200.000 items) shows a different truth. The analysis, consisting of the width/height proportions, shows a value of rarely if ever one (square) and with majority of images having a proportion larger than one, but less than e.g. the golden ratio. Furthermore, more images have the inversed proportion, meaning that portrait paintings are more common than landscape paintings. The inverse is true for photographs, i.e. more landscape than portrait format photographs has been found in the databases.