Contemplation of the beautiful reduces physical pain — this was confirmed by neurologists at the University of Bari (Italy).
From hundreds of paintings from different eras, the participants in their experiment selected 20 beautiful and 20 (in their opinion) ugly works. The researchers then used a laser pulse to cause a painful tingling sensation in the hands of the subjects and asked them to look at selected pictures without interruption. As it turned out, when the volunteers looked at the beautiful works of Leonardo, Botticelli, Van Gogh, their pain sensations were one third less intense than when looking at other canvases or a blank canvas (this was confirmed by devices measuring the activity of different parts of the brain). Dr. de Tommaso (Marina de Tommaso) hopes that these results will convince society to care not only about the functionality of hospital buildings, but also about the aesthetic appeal of their interiors.