The Fine Line

It’s a strange phenomenon, the idea of a fine line between genius and insanity, but it seems that many geniuses also suffered from some form of mental illness, whether it be depression, Bi-Polar, Schizophrenia, insanity, or some other form of mental illness. It’s hard to say if their genius simply drove them “crazy” or contributed to an already present condition. Nevertheless, it seems that genius was also connected to mental illness.

Vincent van Gogh was an amazing artist. He poured his heart into every brushstroke, creating more than 2,000 pieces in just ten years. Saying he poured his heart out on the paintings, might also indicate that he would never settle for a painting that was not “perfect” in his eyes. Vincent Willem van Gogh was born on March 30, 1853, in Groot-Zundert, a mainly Catholic town in the province of North Brabant, Netherlands. He was the eldest surviving child of Theodorus van Gogh (1822–1885), a Dutch Reformed Church minister, and his wife, Anna Cornelia Carbentus (1819–1907). He was named after his grandfather and a brother who had been stillborn exactly one year earlier.

There’s been a lot of debate about the nature of Van Gogh’s illness and how it influenced his art, with many different diagnoses suggested over the years. Most agree he had an episodic condition with stretches of normal functioning. In 1947, Perry was the first to propose bipolar disorder, a view later supported by psychiatrists Hemphill and Blumer. Biochemist Wilfred Arnold argued instead for acute intermittent porphyria, pointing out that the often-cited link between bipolar disorder and creativity might be misleading. Others have suggested temporal lobe epilepsy accompanied by bouts of depression. Whatever the case, his health was probably made worse by malnutrition, overwork, insomnia, and alcohol.

His deep love for painting was intertwined with his lifelong struggle with mental illness, often leaving him in despair and isolation. The famous moment when Van Gogh cut off part of his own ear has come to represent the thin line between genius and madness. Yet, despite it all, his art stands as a powerful reminder of the strength of the human spirit. Nevertheless, on July 27, 1890, at the age of 37, Van Gogh’s mental illness caught up with him. He shot himself in the chest with a revolver. It may have happened in the wheat field where he had been painting or possibly in a local barn. The bullet struck a rib, passed through his chest, and didn’t seem to damage any internal organs, but was perhaps stopped by his spine. He managed to walk back to the Auberge Ravoux, where two doctors treated him. One, Dr Gachet, had been a war surgeon during the 1870 Franco-Prussian War and was well-versed in treating gunshot wounds. Vincent may have been cared for through the night by Dr. Gachet’s son, Paul Louis Gachet, and the innkeeper, Arthur Ravoux. The next morning, Theo hurried to be with his brother, finding him in good spirits at first, but within hours Vincent’s health declined due to an infection from the wound. He died in the early hours of Tuesday, July 29. According to Theo, Vincent’s final words were: “The sadness will last forever.” He simply saw no way out of his mental illness and no reason to go on.