👀 Exercise: Sharpen Your Visual Perception
Discover more from Low Fidelity
👀 Exercise: Sharpen Your Visual Perception
A practice to slow down and notice the details that are easily overlooked.
Saper vedere or ‘knowing how to see’, was the concept Leonardo da Vinci attributed all his scientific and artistic accomplishments.
Today, I’m bringing back the fun exercise of observing the details of a piece of art. The goal of this exercise is to improve your visual perception skills so you can start noticing both the small and big details, the obvious and the subtle details, that are easily missed.
As Albert Szent-Györgyi, a Nobel Prize-winning biochemist, said,
“Discovery consists of seeing what everyone has seen and thinking what nobody has thought.”
As you move fast throughout the day from one task to the next, it is a good reminder to slow down and observe what is right in front of you. To really see and not gloss over important details.
Each time I do this exercise I surprise myself and realize how much information I overlook when I look quickly instead of slowing down to notice the details.
I think this exercise will surprise you, and over time you will strengthen your visual perception so you don’t miss important details that are right in front of you and see what others easily overlook. Your future self will thank you.
Exercise Instructions
Observe the image below. Notice all the details
Challenge yourself to list as many details as you can. Look for objects, people, shapes, colors, patterns, etc.
Be as specific in your observations as possible. For example, instead of a bear, you can say a small brown bear next to the woman facing the left with its head down.
Optional: Share your list in the comments. Let’s see how many things you found.
Artwork Details:
Trade cards from the "Flags of the States and Territories" series (N11), issued in 1888 in a set of 47 cards to promote Allen & Ginter brand cigarettes. There are also approximately 100 scroll color variations. The museum's collection contains the full set of 47 cards, as well as 54 scroll color variations and one cutout card.
That’s it! How did it go? How many details were you able to notice? Share your thoughts or observations in the comments.
Thanks for taking the time to do this exercise.
I hope you have a wonderful day.
Cheers,
Rizwan
👀 Exercise: Sharpen Your Visual Perception
I'll kick things off.
Here are my observations:
1. The word California on the top in yellow on a golden background
2. The ruffles on the flag
3. the blue flag waving towards the right
4. brown flagpole
5. arrow head on the top of the flagpole
6. the word California on the flag
7. The red scroll the word California is written on
8. The two tassles on the top of the flag pole
9. The woman with the head piece in red, white, and blue.
10. The red cape worn by the woman
11. The blue top the woman is wearing
12. the staff the woman is holding in her right hand
13. The shield with five dots the woman is holding in her left hand
14. the small brown bear right next to her
15. the white skirt the woman is wearing
16. The scenery behind the woman with the mountains and the sun with its rays
17. The blue, red, and yellow sky
18. The two people in the background one is sitting and the other standing with a hat on
19. The boat on the river with a people standing on it.
20. The factories with smoke coming out of them
21. The houses and the trees in the background
22. The red scroll with golden outline and the dotted print wrapping around the flagpole.
23. The three men working in the field.
24. One man with a pick and one with a rake
25. The vegetables and the fruit bounty on the bottom right
26. The words "The Golden State" in red on a black background on the bottom
27. The fence around the field where the people are working
28. The words Allen and Ginter's Cigarettes, Richmond, Virginia on the red scroll.
I know I probably missed a lot but this was good challenge for me to stay focused and in the moment.
How did it go for you?