The Suggestion
I know this may be seen as one of the common suggestions, but it's not. I'm not suggesting "customised colour schemes" or "customised layouts". I'm suggesting a simple option where users can set the tonal value (brightness) of the background colour individually for their deviations. Alternatively, other members may be able to independently change the tonal value for artwork they are viewing.

When one uploads a deviation, there is a drop-down menu listing roughly 20 shades of grey which a user can select. This selected tone is displayed in the background of the deviation for the optimal viewing experience. Perhaps, for admin/staff, there could be an RGB input or something similar, as it’s probably presumed these people won’t abuse such a thing.

Also, while viewing a deviation, the viewer would have the option to independently and manually select their own backdrop shade, if, for whatever reason, the one the artist chose just doesn’t work. Just like you can do with literature…

What dA says
In the Common Suggestions thread, it states: "deviantART's current scheme and layout is made to be non-distracting (as the focus should really be the art), easy to use, and as close to eye-pleasing as possible."

This doesn't make sense to me. The focus cannot be on the art if the background is too glaring in comparison with a darker image. The focus is also taken from the art due to the buttons to the left (but I won't go into THAT issue). When you go to an art exhibition or an art gallery, you will generally find that the whole area is altered to best suit the art. People don't make the art to suit the area. I've seen galleries where the walls are painted a certain colour, and where the lighting is adjusted to suit what it's displaying. It really is about the art! It doesn't make sense to NOT give the users of deviantART such a feature.

I’m not just trying to make it look like dA is wholly against my idea, but I have suggested this a few times in the past over the last few years and I haven’t seen anything done…

What’s wrong with the neutral green?
I have my own website which has a significantly darker backdrop. It's approximately 20% grey (100% being white) compared with dA's 85% grey. The difference is immense to anybody with sensitivities to the finer details of how artwork changes when viewed in different environments. When the background value is darker, the dark tones show up more clearly. Drastic differences in tonal value (in the extreme case, from black to white, with no blending) create a glaring contrast which is unpleasing for the eyes. So, no, it's not as eye-pleasing as possible.

As an example, compare [link] with [link]

So it’s not the best example, but some of you at least may be able to discern what I’m talking about. I mean, there's a big difference between a brightness of 125 and 130, out of 255, but 20 options might suffice for most things. Lighting also affects how the image looks; what lighting is around you? Where are they pointed? What kind of globes are they? Do they have coverings of any kind? Is there any sunlight coming in? Is it direct or refracted? And so on… which is partly my reason for suggesting a manual override.

It looks fine; nothing looks too dark
Yeah, sometimes this is the case. It may be that the lighting in your room is quite dim, or your lights are out and it’s night time (which is bad for your eyes). But not all of us are on the computer through the night.

Won’t this feature be abused?
What, unlike the journal CSS feature? And the webcam? And the comment feature? And deviations? No, really.

How can you abuse a selection of 20 shades of grey which can be independently and manually overridden by the viewer if he or she so wishes? Fearing abuse is no reason not to implement such a feature.

So…
If you want to support this feature, please support this article. That’s the reason behind me creating an article. Do you want dA to put more emphasis onto the artwork on this site? This is a great way to do so!

What do other people think about this? Saying, "I don't see a point", is a useless post. Just so you know. I know some people won't see a point, but that doesn't invalidate anything I've said.