Anyone with a passing knowledge of art history knows that Vincent van Gogh was not the most well-adjusted person, to say the least. The great Post-Impressionist, who famously cut off part of his ear in a fit of madness, claimed it was just a “normal bout of artistic insanity,” but later called it a “psychiatric or nervous breakdown.”
But now specialists at the University of Groningen Medical Center have come up with a different diagnosis. They conducted a psychiatric evaluation based on medical records and hundreds of letters Vincent wrote to his beloved brother Theo. In the end, Dutch experts concluded that the artist had at least two episodes of delirium tremens caused by alcohol withdrawal (this was after he cut off his ear). At the same time, the authors of the study acknowledge that their findings cannot be considered definitive because they did not have the opportunity to interview the patient. Van Gogh apparently suffered from a number of mental disorders, most notably bipolar and borderline personality disorder, but was never diagnosed as such. Now researchers are ready to attribute schizophrenia to him as well.
The experts’ conclusions are largely based on numerous letters from the artist. And as for the epilepsy, which was indeed diagnosed by Van Gogh’s physician, the authors of a new study are inclined to believe that it was most likely a so-called “hidden epilepsy”. That is, the patient did not have classic seizures with convulsions, but rather behavioral disturbances, although such seizures could still cause anxiety, obsessions, and even hallucinations. In Van Gogh’s case, such hidden epilepsy could have been caused by brain damage due to his chaotic and far from healthy lifestyle. According to researchers, alcohol abuse, carelessness with food, lack of sleep, and psychological exhaustion could also have contributed.
However, as research coordinator and psychiatry professor Willem Nolen points out, it is not impossible that Van Gogh “concealed or embellished some details” in his letters. “Although they contain a lot of information, it is important to remember that he did not address them to his treating physicians, but to family members, to tell them something, to convince them of something, or to get something from them,” the psychiatrist says. “So it is not worth taking our diagnosis as final.”
Sometimes van Gogh’s talent is attributed to his mental state, but art historians are ready to argue with this, reasonably asserting that his achievements are the result of skills developed over years of diligent work. In addition, the artist rarely picked up a paintbrush during seizures. Despite the confusion in his mind and soul, Van Gogh never lost his motivation to paint, and he always referred to “deep friendship” as the only reliable remedy for his illnesses.