Predicting Visual Comfort in Art Galleries: The Interactive Influence of Painting Tones and Illuminance

This study uniquely integrates physiological and subjective data to predict comfort. To optimize lighting conditions in art galleries, this study investigates the interactive effects of painting tones (cool, medium, warm) and illuminance levels (50, 150, 300 lx) on visual comfort. Using decorative paintings as experimental stimuli, 30 participants were exposed to nine distinct lighting scenarios. Subjective questionnaires and eye-tracking data were collected to establish five predictive models. An additional cohort of 10 participants served as an external validation set. Results indicate that the interaction between tone and illuminance exerts a significant influence on comfort. The optimal combinations identified were cool tone + 50 lx, warm tone + 150 lx, and medium tone + 300 lx. Among the models, XGBoost demonstrated superior predictive performance (R2 = 0.928 in the test set; R2 = 0.884 in external validation). SHAP analysis revealed that the coefficient of variation in pupil diameter was the most critical predictor, followed by fixation count and related features. Both global and individual feature contributions to comfort were elucidated, offering a robust scientific foundation for the precise regulation of lighting environments in art galleries.