Absinthe and wine have frequently been blamed for causing the deterioration of Vincent van Gogh’s psychological and medical issues, but research conducted by top experts suggested that the discontinuation of alcohol could have led to certain mental problems.
According to the heading “Van Gogh likely to have been afflicted twice by delirium brought on by withdrawal from alcohol” The University Medical Center Groningen, in northern Netherlands surprised everyone with the news. The experts claim that they are the first time that it is suggested that some of the problems that the artist experienced resulted from the absence of alcohol.
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec’s portrait of Vincent van Gogh (1887) Courtesy of the Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Foundation)
While in Paris in 1886-1888 Vincent was a frequent drinker at the bar of Montmartre most likely the absinthe as well as wine. Following his departure, he addressed his older brother Theo to tell him that he was “almost an drunk as a result of excessive drinking”. In Arles the French city of Provence He appears to have slowed down his drinking and still drank wines with meals.
The Groningen paper , which was made public in International Journal of Bipolar Disorders (Springer Open) The paper is written by four prominent experts: Willem Nolen, Erwin van Meekeren Piet Voskuil, and Willem van Tilburg.
They believe that Van Gogh experienced delusion (sudden confusion) in at least two instances, “due to alcohol withdrawal as he was compelled to stop drinking alcohol abruptly after his admission to the hospital following the ear injury”. He was hospitalized between 24 December 1888 and 7 January 1889. Then following a setback his return to the hospital occurred between 7 and 17 Feb 1889.
In late January 1889 between the two periods of hospitalisation during which he’d probably been devoid from alcohol consumption, the artist created an unfinished still-life with personal items from his house in his Yellow House. The front of his painting, is an unopened bottle that appears to be empty. While its meaning isn’t completely clear however, the bottle could symbolize a welcoming signpost to returning to normal after the hospital.
Vincent Van Gogh’s Still Life (1889) Courtesy of the Kroller Muller Museum. Otterlo
The experts assert that after the artist went to an asylum , he was “forced to limit or reduce or even stop drinking”. The study therefore is built on the assumption Van Gogh did not drink alcohol at all during his time in the asylum. However, I’d say it isn’t the case The fact is that he was permitted to drink twice the amount of alcohol typically served to inmates.
When Vincent had been considering whether to enter the asylum on the outskirts of Saint-Remy-de-Provence he asked his brother Theo if he could have “a little more wine than usual down there, half a litre instead of a quarter [a day]”.
In the subsequent letter he wrote to the asylum physician, he made two demands: Vincent “should be at free to paint outside of the premises” as well as “have at minimum half a litre wine at every meal”. In modern terms it’s an average of UK units of alcohol per week. This is three times more than the current minimum recommended.
While it might come as an unwelcome surprise it was commonplace to serve wine in French asylums. A survey conducted by the government in 1874 on all French asylums revealed that male patients generally received between 14 to 40 centilitres of wine per day but not the same as Van Gogh’s fifty centilitres but nevertheless quite significant.
It’s real the fact that Vincent addressed to Theo that following his arrival at the asylum, he kept “absolute sobriety when drinking, eating, and smoking” however it does not mean he was abstinence. This means that he didn’t get drunk, but it is not a rule against having a glass of wine for dinner and lunch. Vincent might also have meant that he was avoiding spirits since alcohol was so popular that it was hardly discussed. The fact is that he probably consumed about a half-liter of wine per time during periods where his health was generally good.
Concentrating on the conclusions drawn from Groningen study Four authors assert that Van Gogh was afflicted by comorbid diseases (more than one illness or illness).
The researchers conclude “he probably was diagnosed with an (probably”bipolar”) mood disorder, which was likely to be associated and (traits of) the Borderline Personality Disorder”. The condition was “worsened due to an alcohol dependence disorder, which was coupled with malnutrition that eventually led along with increasing psychological tensions to a crisis which the man cut off his ears”.
For more reading about wine and Van Gogh head on over to This Day In Wine History.
Following the mutilation of the ear, Following the ear mutilation, he “developed two deliriums that could be caused by withdrawal from alcohol” in the latter part of December 1888 and the beginning of February 1889 in the hospital in Arles. The authors claim that it is probable that the initial short psychosis that he experienced in Arles within the first few days following the ear injury, when the patient stopped drinking suddenly, “was actually an alcohol withdrawal in the form of delirium”. Then came several “severe depression episodes” which eventually led to his suicide in July 1890.
Since the death of Van Gogh, hundreds of medical studies have been published about the condition, presenting many theories. Four years ago , the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam presented an exhibit and symposium titled On the Verge of Mental Illness The Van Gogh and his illness in an effort to help people gain a better understanding of the problems.
The museum was tipped to release a publication that would include the results of the experts who participated in the symposium. However, since then, it has been difficult to agree on a final text, and there hasn’t been any. Voskuil is one among those Groningen authors, acknowledges that the discussions have “not produced enough agreement to draw the final conclusion”.
The four doctors who participated with the Amsterdam symposium have gone on their own, writing their opinions in writing within the Groningen study. However, as the principal author Nolen acknowledges, “our article certainly won’t be the last one on Van Gogh’s illness”.
Art historians from the Van Gogh Museum have become more and more aware that medical diagnoses of historical figures can be filled with pitfalls. They hope, however, that the report that was promised at the symposium in 2016 will eventually be published at the end of next year or 2022.