Vincent Van Gogh — More Than a “Troubled” Soul

Vincent Van Gogh, b. 1853, was a prominent member of the Dutch Post-Impressionism movement. As a painter, through depictions of still-life’s, self-portraits, and landscapes, Van Gogh often drew inspiration from his surroundings and thoughts as a person with disabilities. Unfortunately, the public’s perception of disability carried over into visual culture, making it impossible for artists to openingly express themselves. Because of this, the possibly of disability at play is something only researched in the many years following Van Gogh’s passing.

I am not a fan of speculating about one’s disability, as this is more than socially unacceptable and something that has been done by many art history and psychology researchers. However, I understand that the notion of disability in one’s art is an important aspect to investigate to some degree for further meaning. Many diagnoses have been applied to the artist, including manic depression, temporal-lobe epilepsy, borderline personality disorder, bipolar disorder, and schizophrenia. While this is harmful, the Van Gogh website does state that “Numerous suggestions as to the nature of Van Gogh’s illness can be found in (medical) literature….Possibilities include syphilis, dementia praecox, hallucinatory psychosis, alcoholism, turpentine poisoning and gas intoxication, but also schizophrenia, a manic-depressive disorder, a metabolic disorder, delirium tremens, a borderline personality disorder, temporal lobe epilepsy and even sunstroke…Dr Peyron, Vincent’s physician at the institution in Saint-Rémy, concluded that Van Gogh was suffering from a form of epilepsy. And, being the only official medical diagnosis ever made, that’s the closest we can get to an answer.”

In addition to Van Gogh’s official diagnosis, the artist did leave behind over one-hundred letters that do provide a unique picture into his personal lived experiences. Sure, Van Gogh painted himself after cutting his ear off, but no one during that time placed his work into the context of disability. The act was purely seen as “crazy” and comical. Although the piece, Self-portrait with Bandaged Ear (1889) is one of the only paintings created by Van Gogh that outwardly depicts his lived experiences, the use of blue in much of the artist’s work could represent an attempt to experience tranquility.