Figures
Art’s hidden topology: A window into human perception
The interplay of colours, textures, and form in an abstract art piece is an inherently subjective act of interpretation. We decompose the art (above the diagonal) into its underlying shapes using tools from algebraic topology in order to learn what shapes in the image are attracting viewers’ attention and, thus, interpretation. The processed shapes are shown below the diagonal, where colour reflects their `persistence', which is linked to how strongly they stand out. This analysis revealed hidden organizational principles underlying artistic composition - a previously unrecognized “golden rule” of abstract art, linking topological structure to artistic composition and aesthetic perception. Dmitruk et al. 2026
Image Credit: Emil Dmitruk
Citation: (2026) PLoS Computational Biology Issue Image | Vol. 22(5) July 2026. PLoS Comput Biol 22(5): ev22.i05. https://doi.org/10.1371/image.pcbi.v22.i05
Published: July 8, 2026
Copyright: © 2026 . This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.
The interplay of colours, textures, and form in an abstract art piece is an inherently subjective act of interpretation. We decompose the art (above the diagonal) into its underlying shapes using tools from algebraic topology in order to learn what shapes in the image are attracting viewers’ attention and, thus, interpretation. The processed shapes are shown below the diagonal, where colour reflects their `persistence', which is linked to how strongly they stand out. This analysis revealed hidden organizational principles underlying artistic composition - a previously unrecognized “golden rule” of abstract art, linking topological structure to artistic composition and aesthetic perception. Dmitruk et al. 2026
Image Credit: Emil Dmitruk