But some artists have other unpleasant surprises in the form of serious diseases. Like representatives of different professions, artists have their own "shop" diseases. They arise due to constant contact with toxic substances contained in paints and a sedentary lifestyle. Despite this, artists find the strength to overcome bodily weakness and achieve outstanding success in creativity.
Vincent Van Gogh
It is no secret that the eccentricity of the master was due to mental illness. But few people suspect how long the list of ailments was hiding behind this wording. According to psychiatrists, Van Gogh suffered from bipolar and borderline personality disorders.
"Sunflowers" Vincent Van Gogh. Photos © bbc.com
Probably, the artist's mental state was caused by years of malnutrition and addiction to alcohol, which developed in the last ten years of the master's life. This is how psychiatrists explain the infamous cases of Van Gogh's attack on Paul Gauguin with a razor and mutilation. Earlier it was suggested that the master could also suffer from syphilis, gonorrhea, and epileptic psychosis, but convincing evidence has not yet been found. And yet numerous diseases did not prevent the master from creating. It is known that his most outstanding works ("Starry Sky" and "Sunflowers") were written during his stay in a mental hospital.
Edouard Manet
The famous master of painting in impressionism has always surprised connoisseurs of beauty with his ability to work. In the early stages of his career, he painted at least 15 artworks a year. But constant alterations could not but affect his health. Subsequently, the artist began to suffer from continuous pain in the leg. Clearly, the ailment was related to the lifestyle, but Manet could not give up painting and continued to work intensively. The artist constantly had to take painkillers and increase his rest time. His health deteriorated sharply after a fall on the street. At the subsequent examination, the master was diagnosed with ataxia (lack of coordination of muscles during movement). The disease progressed, so Manet had to rely on a cane. But all these sufferings did not extinguish his passion for painting. A few years before his death, the master worked at the limit of his abilities, creating up to 40 canvases a year.
Edgar Degas
Contemplating the incredible lightness of images on the canvases of the impressionist Edgar Degas, the viewer can only marvel at the unique ability of the master to see the beauty of the world. But he would be even more surprised if he knew that the artist created most of his works, barely distinguishing small details on the canvas. Due to vision problems that began in adulthood, he had to switch to pastels and gouache. The artist wrote his famous work "Blue Dancers," already having severe problems with vision. In the master's work, there is a clear tendency to increase the intensity of colors as blindness approaches.
El Greco
A characteristic feature of the style of the Spanish artist El Greco is a visible "elongation" of faces and figures in portraits. For a long time, art historians explained this manner of the artist by the desire to express his individuality. But later, the analysis of the master's biography led researchers to the idea that perhaps he saw the world distorted due to vision problems.
"Mary Magdalen in Penitence" El Greco. Photos © pl.wikipedia.org
Probably, the master suffered from strabismus and astigmatism. There was also another version, according to which the manner of depicting people was the result of the imposition of the tradition of Byzantine painting on Italian fine art. Only an examination of El Greco by an ophthalmologist could end this issue, so none of the versions can be definitively confirmed or denied.
Frida Kahlo
Frida Kahlo's life is called a Mexican drama. Most of it, she struggled with mental and physical pain caused by psychological and physical trauma. Kahlo was involved in a car accident at a young age, after which her body was assembled piece by piece. In addition to fracturing her spine in 3 places, she suffered injuries to her ribs and pelvis and 11 fractures of her right leg. The artist felt the consequences of the incident all her life. Kahlo had to take painkillers, wear a plaster brace to fix the displaced vertebrae, and undergo other painful procedures. Another consequence of the car accident was infertility. The artist tried to get pregnant for many years, but all attempts failed. Because of this, her mental health was seriously affected. The motives of infertility and suffering against the background of unrealized motherhood became one of the main motives of her work.
Francisco Goya
The gloomy plots of the Spanish artist's paintings are usually considered in the context of the ideas of romanticism. But later, researchers of Goya's heritage concluded that the reason for such a craving to embody the images of nightmares was physical suffering caused by a severe illness. At 46, the artist began to experience inexplicable pains, which ended in paralysis and deafness. For two years, he was bedridden and, after a partial recovery, remained deaf in one ear.
"La maja vestida" Francisco Goya. Photos © en.wikipedia.org
Previously, researchers believed that the cause of this disease could be syphilis or another venereal disease, but the symptoms did not fully confirm this version. According to modern doctors, the artist suffered from the effects of a rare autoimmune disease called Susac syndrome. In addition to hearing loss and blindness, hallucinations can also be a consequence of this disease. Perhaps this syndrome influenced the central motif of late Goi's work.
Yayoi Kusama
One of the most famous artists of our time suffered from obsessive thoughts since early childhood. The cause of mental anomalies was probably an unhealthy atmosphere in the family. Later, this trauma was compounded by the parents' complete rejection of their daughter's hobbies in art: the traditions of Japanese society required her to get married as soon as possible and become a keeper of the home. Because of this, Kusama had to leave home and illegally emigrate to the United States. But the mental trauma received in childhood and adolescence left an imprint on the artist's life. Her personal life did not work out, and her relationships with others were always problematic. In addition, Yayoi Kusama was diagnosed with uterine fibroids and diffuse goiter in adulthood. In 1977, she voluntarily moved to a clinic for obsessive-compulsive disorder, where she lives to this day. But all this does not prevent her from continuing her creative career and participating in international competitions and events.
KyivGallery art critic