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But upon further research into this subject, I realized it would be a bit hard to run that proposed series. Why? Well, because all of the famously “mad” artists out there were… actually… pretty mad. Well, not exactly mad, they had various psychological issues, but it would be really hard to debunk their stories, to prove that their tortured artist personas are just in people’s heads.
They really were tortured artists, and albeit quite dark, I do believe their histories are interesting ones that deserve to be explored a tiny bit further. And something I do believe deserves to be debunked is this romantic notion of the tortured artist.
First, a note on the concept of “tortured artists”. According to Wikipedia,
Tortured artists feel alienated and misunderstood due to the perceived ignorance or neglect of others who do not understand nor support them and the things they feel are important.
And this is an image we as a society have been in love with for ages now. Even though it’s quite wrong, as these are very tormented people we’re talking about. But I guess there’s just something awfully romantic about this idea of someone suffering so much for their art, for their uniqueness…
1. Vincent van Gogh
Interestingly, it is a self-portrait of Van Gogh that greets you when you go unto the ‘tortured artist’ Wikipedia page. You can’t say tortured artist without at least thinking of the great painter and even though people tend to romanticize him, his life was not a happy one.
Like many artists, Van Gogh was not understood and was largely unsuccessful during his own lifetime, which understandably led to frustrations. After taking up painting at the suggestion of his beloved brother, Theo, Vincent Van Gogh lived in horrible poverty, often spending what little money he had on brushes and colors, rather than food. As a result, his health deteriorated greatly and pretty quickly (his heavy use of tobacco and alcohol surely didn’t help).
Van Gogh seems to have had a difficult personal life. At first falling in love with his older, widowed cousin, Cornelia Vos-Stricker, whom he even proposed to. But Cornelia rejected him (very possibly because of his poverty and inability to support a family, since Cornelia at the time had an eight-year old daughter). Van Gogh became obsessed with the woman, following her and hanging outside her house.
After this episode, Van Gogh took up living with a prostitute and her two children (neither of them fathered by Vincent), much to his father’s displeasure. He tried revolting against his father and staying with them. But in the end, he left them behind also, possibly because of their meager living conditions and her profession. Later on, the woman drowned herself and Van Gogh went back to living with his parents.
The Ear Incident
During all this, Vincent was developing his style as an artist and finding his own way. He traveled and stayed with different artists. In 1888, he was visited by renowned painter Paul Gauguin, whom he greatly admired. Gauguin stayed with Van Gogh for a while and they painted together, having a sort of mentor-apprentice relationship going. But the atmosphere was becoming tense. Van Gogh understood his own talents and longed for recognition, which Gauguin was unwilling to give, treating Vincent as inferior. Their relationship was a very complex one.
Vincent longed to be rid of the older painter while at the same time, wishing to show his own value and have him around as mentor. It’s unclear how exactly the incident happened.
Gauguin said that Vincent, realizing his mentor was wishing to leave, followed him out one morning (when Gauguin was going for a walk) and threatened him with a razor blade. After the skirmish, it is supposed Van Gogh went back into the house and suffered a breakdown, which led to his severing his right ear.
Vincent Van Gogh Painting Sunflowers - by Paul Gaugain Image
After this episode, Van Gogh’s mental health rapidly unraveled. He stayed in various mental clinics and hospitals and continued his painting throughout. He felt alienated from the world, often complaining of loneliness and extreme sadness, sentiments he channeled into his artistic work.
Sadly, Vincent van Gogh shot himself in the chest on the 27th of July 1890, in a field outside his home. Interestingly, the bullet missed any of his vital organs and didn’t produce any massive damage (he went on to live for some 30 more hours), and it is believed he died from an untreated infection resulted from the shooting.
While his precarious mental health surely wasn’t a good thing, it seems naive to say it is the only reason for Vincent’s demise and sad life. Loneliness, lack of recognition, poor diet and alcohol and tobacco abuse and overwork surely worsened his condition.
Although our account of this great man’s life is brief, it can be surmised that he did not lead a happy, well-balanced life. He lived in poverty, loneliness and his genius was largely unrecognized. Not a romantic picture, at all. It is worth remembering that although the collective idea we have about the tortured artist is a beautiful, if melancholic one, the reality is often bleak and deeply upsetting.
This was supposed to be the only post on the subject, containing multiple cases of “tortured artists”, but the truth is, the subject is so vast and interesting that it’s very hard to cut down on their stories. You can’t really read two paragraphs about a character and even begin to understand what went on in his life. And so, this is the first in a series on tortured artists.
Who is your favorite “tortured artist”?
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References - Wikipedia
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