Recent analysis of self-portraits by Rembrandt reveals the famous Dutch artist had a vision problem known as stereoblindness. Stereoblindness occurs when a pair of eyes is not aligned (strabismus) and therefore do not work as a team.
Examination of 24 oil paintings and 12 etchings showed that Rembrandt's eyes were misaligned – they looked away from each other. Rembrandt's misaligned eyes caused him to see two-dimensionally in a three-dimensional world.
To see correctly, both eyes must move together – in the same direction at the same time. This is called binocularity. The most common reason this doesn't happen is due to a muscle imbalance. Rather than traveling together, one eye wanders up, down, inward, or – as in Rembrandt's case – outward.
Many infants have wandering eyes, but the condition corrects itself within a few months as the muscles develop. However, for as many as 10 percent of the population, the condition either does not right itself, or strabismus develops at an older age.
Depth Perception
Normally, your eyes see the same view from slightly different angles. The brain matches the nearly identical views and fills in the missing pieces between them. The resulting image you "see" is a 3-dimensional stereo picture. You see it in width, height, and depth.
Without stereovision, you miss out on full depth dimension, so your world looks flatter than it does to someone with perfect eye alignment. While people with strabismus lack certain aspects of depth perception, people with misaligned eyes are still able to judge distances.
Depth perception is not based on binocularity alone. Other factors become more important to people with stereoblindness, such as perspective (knowing the size of objects and interpreting the distance based on that size), interposition (overlapping), and fogging (distant items lack clarity) and lighting cues.
What it Means
People who are stereoblind struggle with eye-hand coordination and depth judgments. Some stereoblind people have a difficult time parking a car or pouring milk into a cup without spilling. They might be prone to motion sickness, trip on steps and curbs, or have a tough time threading a needle.
Stereoblindness doesn't mean you can't drive, golf, fish, bike ride, ski, mountain climb, sew, play basketball, run, swim, take pictures, hunt, or read. You might just need to work a little harder at acquiring the necessary skills.
According to the American Optometric Association, depth perception is what allows you to "quickly and accurately judge the distance between yourself, the ball, your opponents, teammates, boundary lines, and other objects." Another example is archery. If your arrow consistently lands short, or consistently beyond the target, you might have stereoblindness.
Due to depth perception issues, people with stereoblindness probably shouldn't set their sights on being NASCAR drivers. They should also think twice before taking classes to become an architect or surgeon because they aren't able to easily see in 3 dimensions. But, if you have the interest, you might try your hand at painting or drawing. Stereoblindness probably contributed to Rembrandt's skill as an artist.
"Art teachers often instruct students to close one eye in order to flatten what they see. Therefore, stereoblindness might not be a handicap – and might even be an asset – for some artists," wrote study co-authors Margaret S. Livingstone, Ph.D., and Bevil R. Conway, Ph.D.
Check it Out
Sometimes strabismus can lead to amblyopia (lazy eye), where one eye does not develop good vision. Four percent of the population is believed to have amblyopia. If it's not treated by early childhood, it might not be fixable. Children can have amblyopia without any obvious abnormality. The best way to detect it is with an eye exam.
Vision therapy, surgery, corrective lenses, and other treatments can be used to restore binocularity. Have your vision assessed by an ophthalmologist. |
