Einfühlung is a complicated concept that was invented in the second half of the nineteenth century by German philosopher Robert Vischer. In English, Einfühlung roughly translates to ‘empathy’, but it is also referred to as ‘feeling into’. Other words used to describe this model are ‘sympathy’ or ‘understanding’, as defined by Magdalena Nowak in her article The Complicated History of Einfühlung. During this time period, there was an increased interest in the psychology of perception. In the article, the author mentions philosopher Johann Gottfried Herder’s belief that “while perceiving different natural phenomena one can look for similarities to the human and thus ascribe human feelings to them” (Nowak 303). Vischer mentions in his essay, On the Optical Sense of Form: A Contribution to Aesthetics, that einfühlung originated from the idea that the body “objectifies itself in spatial forms” as a response to certain stimuli in dreams and projects itself into the form of an object, unconsciously (Mallgrave and Ikonomou 92).

    There was an established connection between the concept of einfühlung and the empirical aspect of perception. Robert Vischer’s father, Friedrich Theodor Vischer, argued that artworks (and nature) manifest themselves as emotional beings in order to be empathized with. R. Vischer adopted the beliefs of his father and further developed them. For him, einfühlung meant “the viewer’s active participation in a work of art or other visual forms. It was a mutual experience of exchange between the body and the perceived object” (Nowak 304). He put a strong emphasis on the role of the viewer in relation to the artwork and created a shift in focus; “art lies in the reception and the recipient, not the object” (Nowak 304). To shift the focus is necessary to effectively alter the way we perceive art and design. Without the viewer, artwork is meaningless; the user gives the object a purpose and relevance.