Persian and European Dance Motif Artwork from 1512–1920 as a Subject for Empirical Aesthetics

This study proposes Persian and European dance-motif artworks from 1512 to 1920 as a valuable domain of research for empirical aesthetics. An analysis of 90 feminine-coded, body-centered artworks—45 from each cultural sphere—reveals understudied aesthetic parallels in gesture, expression, form, color, tonality, and composition. By comparing pieces across four centuries, the analyses in this study identify meaningful correspondences while also emphasizing the distinct visual languages and stylistic nuances of each tradition. The comparative approach supports a rich cross-cultural dialogue and addresses gaps in empirical aesthetics, where systematic comparisons of Persian and European artworks remain rare. The findings highlight the potential for future empirical and art-historical research to explore how specific aesthetic features function within cultural contexts and how factors such as migration or exposure to multiple artistic traditions may shape aesthetic responses. By proposing a non-hierarchical, cross-cultural reading, the work revalues this period and models a method for future comparative studies. To facilitate future research using this collection of 90 artworks, we provide a list of the artwork titles, year of creation, their provenance, artistic background, available copyright information, and physical attributes for each artwork (mean and standard deviation for luminance, blue-yellow- and red-green color channels; L*, a*, b*).