Vincent van Gogh was crazy. Did absinthe and substances with a chemical connection to thujone make van Gogh crazy
, cut off a piece of his ear, and finally shoot himself in the stomach? Maybe. Did they cause him to paint in yellows and other vivid colors? Possibly. It’s fun to think about. Van Gogh may be one of the most studied artists of our time. In over 150 studies, he has been diagnosed with 30 conditions, all of them long after he was dead! The ongoing fascination with van Gogh is nearly as interesting as van Gogh himself. After reading through so many studies on the poor Dutchman, I can only assume that many otherwise respectable scientists suffer from their own flights of fancy when discussing van Gogh.Epilepsy & Behavior, Volume 6, Issue 4, June 2005, Pages 504-510.
What continues to amaze is that scientists of all specialties continue to cite previous works long after those works have been disproved. Here we have a study that says of van Gogh, “…and after drinking, especially absinthe, a convulsant drug, he continued to have similar attacks.” The attacks referred to are called “fainting fits” by the author of the study. In the end, he draws no conclusion as to the cause of Van Gogh’s seizures, saying that the “syndrome is an orphan without the parent condition.” It is fairly common knowledge now that absinthe and wormwood oil are not the same thing? Wormwood oil is certainly a convulsant, but absinthe, which contains very little if any oil, is not a convulsant. So doctors, please stop referring to old studies that describe absinthe as a convulsant.
American Journal of Psychiatry, April 2002, Volume 159, Pages 519-526.
This study basically goes along with a study from the 1950’s, (Gastaut H: La maladie de Vincent van Gogh envisagée a la lumière des conceptions nouvelles sur l épilepsie psychomotrice. Ann Méd Psychol (Paris) 1956; 114:196-238), in which the author believes Van Gogh suffered seizures in the temporal lobe of his brain, brought on by a malady called épilepsie absinthique (a curious term that comes from an 1873 study, (Magnan V: Recherches de physiologie pathologique avec l’alcool et l’essence d’absinthe—épilepsie. Archives de Physiologie Normale et Pathologique 1873; 5:115-142.) in which the “epileptogenic properties of absinthe” work their evils on Vincent’s brain. The 1873 study is probably the “original mother” of every erroneous reference of absinthe as a convulsant.
Journal of the American Medical Association, Volume 260, No. 20, November 25, 1988.
Here the author summarizes that Van Gogh “had an affinity for substances with a chemical connection to thujone; the documented examples are camphor and pinene,” and that “terpene can cause excitation, convulsions that mimic epilepsy and even permanent brain damage.” It would be fun to read some of those letters. “Dear Theo, I’m really craving a good slug of turpentine today. I guess I’ll go paint a bunch of yellow stuff.”
British Journal of Medicine, Dec 21 1991, Volume 303, Pages 1589-1591.
The authors make the case that Van Gogh may have suffered from
porphyria , a disease in which the production of heme, the oxygen binding part of hemoglobin, does not function properly. It causes sensitivity to sunlight and/or intermittent acute attacks of abdominal and nerve pain. The victim may also suffer mania, cramps, weakness and hallucinations. Acute attacks can be triggered by certain drugs, alcohol, dieting or fasting and infections. Through van Gogh’s letters, we know that he drank quite a bit and that he often ate very little.
Ed. Note: It would be interesting to get some dentists in on the van Gogh picture because it is now known that Streptococcus mutans and other bacteria in the mouth can cause chronic infections. Since one could surmise that van Gogh’s oral hygiene may have been lacking, is it possible that acute attacks were precipitated by chronic mouth infection?
Biochemical Pharmacology, 9 June 1992, Volume 43, Issue 11, Pages 2359-2368.
The authors state that camphor, alpha-pinene (the major component of turpentine) and thujone have porphyrogenic properties (qualities that block heme production in hemoglobin), and may have “implications for the illness of Vincent van Gogh.” This was an in vitro test performed on chicken embryo liver cells, mimicking porphyria through the use of the iron chelator, desferrioxamine. Though test results show an accumulations of porphyrins with camphor, alpha-pinene and thujone, in the presence of desferrioxamine, it should be noted that this test is only an indicator and not conclusive. No scientist would draw conclusions by taking the results of an in-vitro animal test and applying them to a human. However, it is interesting to note that not only alcohol, but also the thujone in absinthe may have “implications for the illness of Vincent van Gogh and the once popular, but now banned liqueur, called absinthe.”
Eye, 1991, Volume 5, Part 5, Pages 503-510.
Here, the authors suggest that “hallucinations induced by absinthe” may partially explain his penchant
for yellows, though they calculate that one must drink 182 liters of absinthe to induce xanthopsia. Xanthopsia is a disorder of the eyes, causing yellow vision, which can be exacerbated by malnutrition and substance abuse. The authors rule out digitalis overdose (no substantiation) and sunstroke as reasons for his embrace of yellow, saying that “artistic preference is the best working hypothesis to explain the yellow dominance in his palette.”
Practical Neurology, 2006, No. 6, Pages 376-381.
“VG, a 35 year old right-handed, heavy drinking, unemployed male artist, was admitted to Arles hospital, Provence in December ’88 under the care of Dr Felix Rey. He was agitated, experiencing auditory hallucinations, and had alcohol on his breath. Earlier that evening, he had argued with, and assaulted, his male companion with a razor. Feeling remorse, he had cut a piece from his own left ear, walked to a brothel, and presented a parcel containing his ear to a prostitute friend saying, "Guard this object carefully": she fainted on seeing the ear and alerted the authorities. Over the following weeks he suffered repeated "madness" episodes, resulting in voluntary transfer to the nearby Saint Rémy asylum (May ’89 – May ’90, Dr Peyron), and thence for three months’ convalescence at Auvers-sur-Oise (Dr Gachet). Shortly after discharge, however, M van Gogh shot himself in the abdomen, and died two days later. . .”
In this amusing reply to “Absinthe attacks,” the author suggests using caution when blaming absinthe for van Gogh’s “attacks” since the authors of “Xanthopsia and van Gogh’s yellow palette” calculated that one must drink 182 liters of absinthe to induce xanthopsia. He does note that a good case is made for acute intermittent porphyria. And he says that “the presence of digitalis in not one but two portraits of his physician, Gachet, just seems too perfect to ignore.
Journal of the American Medical Association, Feb 20, 1981, Vol. 245, No. 7, pages 727-729.
The authors suggest that van Gogh’s unique artistic vision may have been caused by Digitalis intoxication. 
Digitalis is the name for the common garden plant Foxglove. It was used in the 19th century as a treatment for epilepsy. Digitalis intoxication can cause xanthopsia and coronas, or halos. Van Gogh painted his physician, Dr. Gachet, twice holding a Foxglove plant. From a study called Digitalis toxicity we see that: “The foxglove, when given in very large and quickly repeated doses, occasions sickness, vomiting, purging, giddiness, confused vision, objects appearing green or yellow; increased secretion of urine, slow pulses, even as low as 35 in a minute, cold sweats, convulsions, syncope, death.”
Journal of the American Medical Association, July 25 1990, Volume 264, No. 4, Pages 491-493.
This report and the following report (by the same authors) state than van Gogh suffered from Meniere’s disease, caused by lesions in the inner ear and manifesting in vertigo, dizziness, physical imbalance, hearing symptoms and tinnitus (buzzing in the ears). Apparently, Meniere’s disease was misdiagnosed as epilepsy into the 20th century.
Acta oto-laryngologica. Supplementum, 1991, Volume 485, Pages 84-103.
After reviewing the 796 personal letters of van Gogh, as well as the symptoms of his vertigo attacks, their presentation and duration, the authors conclude that van Gogh’s clinical picture is consistent with Meniere’s disease. “His symptoms included episodic vertigo and dizziness, physical imbalance, hearing symptoms, ear noises (tinnitus) as well as a presumed secondary psychological reaction to his physical symptomatology.”
Laryyngohinootologie, Jan 1993, Volume 72, No. 1, Pages 1-8.
Prosper Meniere showed that lesions of the inner ear can cause deafness, tinnitus and vertigo. Martin Luther may have suffered from Meniere’s disease long before Meniere’s description. Luther suspected Satanic inflictions as the cause of his disease.
