Deaf signers exhibit expert-like gaze patterns when viewing Old Master paintings

Visual expertise arises when habitual exposure to specific stimuli shapes attentional allocation and eye-movement patterns. Such adaptations can sometimes extend beyond their domain of acquisition, as shown in studies of trained populations. However, less is known about perceptual skill transfer that could emerge from lived experience rather than deliberate practice, as in the case of early deafness combined with sign language mastery. We addressed this question by recording the eye movements of 30 Deaf fluent users of Austrian Sign Language viewing Old Master narrative paintings. We then compared them with 28 hearing art history experts and 30 hearing non-experts. Despite lacking formal art-historical training, Deaf participants exhibited ocular patterns closely resembling those of experts: shorter fixations, broader exploration of pictorial surfaces, heightened attention to symbolic objects and codified hand gestures, and reduced reliance on face-focused viewing. Furthermore, verbal artwork descriptions by Deaf signers and art experts included a richer set of visually grounded elements than lay viewers. These findings reveal a transfer of perceptual skills, suggesting that cognitive adaptations associated with sign language and early deafness extend to complex cultural artefacts.