In antiquity, each civilization independently created its own writing system with a specific direction for reading and writing.
Arabic and Hebrew are written and read from right to left, the opposite of most European languages, which derive from Greek and Latin and are written from left to right. In the East, Chinese and Japanese were traditionally written from top to bottom, although today it is also common to write them vertically from right to left.
The direction of each writing system was influenced by the physical way people wrote. In cultures where writing was carved with a chisel in stone, it was more comfortable to move from right to left. Likewise, in the East, when writing with ink and brush on vertical scrolls, it was natural to write in that direction.
These reading directions eventually influenced how images were composed and narrated, and therefore affected art and the way the eye moves across an artwork.
The Great Wave off Kanagawa is a print by Katsushika Hokusai. Created within Japanese culture, the correct reading direction would be from left to right. Following this Eastern reading, the first thing we see is Mount Fuji in the background, then two boats with fishermen in the center, until we reach a huge wave forming a perfect spiral, which seems about to fall on them. This visual journey goes from the calmness of the mountain to the threat of the wave that appears ready to crash down at any moment and sink the fishermen’s boats.
The wave therefore creates great tension for the viewer and carries a strong sense of drama.
The understanding of this image is very different if it is read from left to right. The first thing we see is the large wave, which makes the boats almost go unnoticed, and we end with Mount Fuji in the background, stable and small in the distance. In this case, the effect on the viewer is different: we observe a powerful wave whose movement from left to right emphasizes the sensation of its advance and may even suggest an allusion to progress and power. Finally, our eye ends on Mount Fuji, which provides a sense of stability and balance.
The Third of May 1808 is another artwork in which the direction of reading has a strong influence.
Francisco de Goya designed this painting so that the viewer would empathize with the condemned men.
It should be read from left to right. First we see the civilians who are about to be executed, with expressions of despair and chaos, and as we continue looking we see the soldiers on the right. The rifles of the French soldiers, who appear from behind in a rigid and uniform formation, direct our gaze back to what Goya considered the most important figures: the condemned men. This reading direction creates a sense of inevitable destiny, encouraging the viewer to empathize with the victims.
This does not happen if the painting is read from right to left, since the first thing we would see would be the anonymous soldiers in mechanical formation. This creates an initial sense of threat, and only afterwards do we encounter the human tragedy.
The Garden of Earthly Delights, by Hieronymus Bosch, is a triptych, and its reading direction is from left to right. It forms a sequence in which the first panel represents Paradise and Creation, the central panel shows the earthly world full of pleasures, and the right panel represents Hell and punishment.
This direction narrates how God created humans, and how their indulgence in pleasures ultimately leads them to punishment.
If the work is observed in the opposite direction, we would first see punishment and only later arrive at creation, which would not make much sense narratively.
Naturally, each culture tends to read images in the same direction as it reads lines of text. For this reason, it is important to know the origin of a work of art in order to read it correctly.