Vincent van Gogh is a household name. Even more so if you live in the Netherlands like me. Before his untimely death by suicide at the age of 37, the great painter managed to produce around 900 paintings. Even people who are not particularly into art would recognize some of his work, such as The Starry Night (1889), Cafe Terrace at Night (1888), and the Sunflowers series (1888-1889). Although his early works (1881-1885) consist of dark and depressive paintings like The Potato Eaters (1885) and Woman with a Mourning Shawl (1885), his later work is warm with colors and light.
Diagnosing Vincent
Posthumous diagnosis is a tricky business. There is often no way of carrying out an actual examination. Still, scientists have been debating for decades about the medical conditions Van Gogh might have had. We know for sure that he suffered mentally. He spent the last year of his life in a mental institution in Saint-Rémy-de-Provence. But what about other things? Was there any medical factor that affected how he saw and represented the world on the canvas as uniquely as he did?
“How lovely yellow is!“
Perhaps the biggest scientific discussion concerns the painter’s use of the color yellow. He frequently expressed his love for this color, standing for the sun. But isn’t it a bit weird that he used so much yellow? Especially the fact that yellow domination in his paintings increased in his last years made many people suspect that something other than a simple love for a color might be going on.
There is a medical condition called xanthopsia, which is characterized by a predominantly yellow vision. It can be caused by an overdose of digitalis, a group of plants commonly called foxgloves. Among the many theories, the most popular one is that Van Gogh had been treated with digitalis at Saint-Rémy, which led to him developing xanthopsia, impacted his vision and, therefore, the paintings1.
There is some support for this argument. Digitalis was inappropriately used for the treatment of mental illnesses and epilepsy at that time2. There is a high possibility that Van Gogh’s physician Dr. Gachet prescribed digitalis for him. Van Gogh painted two portraits of Dr. Gachet, and both versions depict Gachet with a digitalis plant on the table in front of him.
Xanthopsia caused by digitalis intoxication not only makes yellow dominant but also causes blue to look green. Van Gogh produced plenty of paintings during his Saint-Rémy days that included blue or were even dominated by blue. Still, Thomas Courtney Lee, the physician who first put forth the digitalis theory in 1981, believed that Van Gogh was indeed not always under intoxication, but he was impressed by the yellow hues he had seen while on medication and frequently carried that onto his paintings.
Others later opposed this hypothesis by pointing out that Van Gogh and Dr. Gachet were only in contact for two months, and there is no evidence suggesting that his other physicians prescribed the drug2. Even in Dr. Gachet’s case, it is unlikely that he would advise an overuse of the drug. He even wrote warningly of the dangers of digitalis3.
While we don’t have proof of the painter’s extreme digitalis consumption, we do know that he was fond of absinthe. His friends and brother remarked on his frequent consumption of this potent beverage. Absinthe is made of Artemisia absinthium, along with a few other plants. Artemisia contains a psychoactive chemical called thujone. Following the xanthopsia discussion, Dr. Michael Albert-Puleo hypothesized that Van Gogh’s yellow vision might be caused by thujone, not digitalis4. Excessive consumption of this compound can indeed cause a yellow hue in vision.
An overdose of santonin, another chemical present in absinthe, can also cause xanthopsia. However, researchers examined the santonin content of absinthe and concluded that it wouldn’t be enough to account for a case of xanthopsia2. Still, they did acknowledge the possibility that Van Gogh’s indulgence in absinthe and his extra susceptibility to its toxic effects due to his inadequate diet might have impacted his perception.
One of Van Gogh’s letters to his brother contains a few sentences that support the absinthe theory. He writes, “I kept myself going on coffee and alcohol… It is true that to attain the high yellow note that I attained last summer, I really had to be pretty well keyed up”. Was he intentionally fueling himself to attain the yellows that he sees?
Part genius, part poison
Eventually, we still don’t know, and maybe can never know, the reason behind the overwhelming yellows in Van Gogh’s paintings. It might be digitalis, it might be absinthe or a combination of both. Or it could simply be that he started using more yellow when he moved to the sunny south of France5. Climate does affect our moods and habits, after all. To me, it doesn’t matter if it’s an artistic choice or caused by a medical ailment. I will continue to admire his brilliant brushstrokes and bask in the warmness that emanates from his yellow paintings. Still, isn’t it fascinating to think that such an artistic genius might actually be part genius and part poison?
Sources
- Lee, Thomas Courtney. “Van Gogh’s vision: digitalis intoxication?.” Jama 245.7 (1981): 727-729.
- Arnold, Wilfred Niels, and Loretta S. Loftus. “Xanthopsia and van Gogh’s yellow palette.” Eye 5.5 (1991): 503-510.
- Gruener, Anna. “Vincent van Gogh’s yellow vision.” British Journal of General Practice 63.612 (2013): 370-371.
- Albert-Puleo, Michael. “Van Gogh’s vision: thujone intoxication.” Jama 246.1 (1981): 42-42.
- Bailey, Jason. “New Data Shows Why Van Gogh Changed His Color Palette” www.artnome.com/news/2018/11/26/new-data-shows-why-van-gogh-changed-his-color-palette-to-bright-yellow
The Curious Frog 