Effects of the Light Environment on Visual Comfort and Perceptual Preference in Static Exhibition Spaces of History Museums

History museum exhibition spaces convey historical and cultural information through static artifacts, graphic–text narratives, and spatial atmosphere. The light environment affects not only exhibit visibility but also visitors’ visual comfort and perceptual preference. However, existing studies mainly focus on single lighting parameters, and perceptual differences across multiple lighting conditions remain insufficiently understood. This study investigated static exhibition spaces in history museums through a comparison of 12 virtual lighting conditions generated from different combinations of ambient illuminance, exhibit illuminance, and correlated color temperature. Visitors’ visual behavior and subjective perception were evaluated through eye-tracking experiments, heatmap analysis, and Likert-scale ratings. Different lighting combinations significantly affected visual attention allocation and subjective evaluation. Total duration of fixation, number of fixations, and average pupil diameter showed significant differences across conditions, whereas average fixation time did not. Overall, moderate ambient illuminance and higher exhibit illuminance were associated with more stable visual responses and more positive perceptual evaluations, while correlated color temperature showed a regulatory effect within the tested range of 3000–4000 K. These findings provide preliminary evidence for understanding perceptual responses to lighting combinations in static exhibition spaces and may inform future field-based validation of museum lighting design.