A study by the University of Turku has investigated how viewing visual art affects our emotions. The research tasked study participants to view different artworks and describe the feelings evoked in their bodies. The researchers recorded eye movement while viewing the art and asked the subjects to rate what kinds of emotions each piece of art evoked. The study revealed that art evokes a wide range of emotions, the stronger the body’s reaction was to the artwork, the stronger the emotions experienced by the viewer. The human figures in the artworks were often the most interesting subject, with viewers empathising with the human emotions presented in the artwork through so-called mirroring. The study included 1,186 people from various countries who assessed the emotions evoked by over 300 artworks. The research was conducted using online surveys and eye movement recordings in the laboratory. The results suggest that our bodies have a significant role in the aesthetic experience, with bodily sensations contributing greatly to the emotions evoked. In artworks where human figures were salient, the bodily fingerprints triggered by the artwork played a central role in the emotions felt by the viewer. The research found that despite many pieces of art examining sad or scary topics, the emotions that viewers experienced were mainly positive. This suggests that emotions and bodily sensations evoked by art could be used in mental health rehabilitation and care.