If you have heard about the song Vincent, you would feel the sadness in the song, as which was the life of the person in the song, Vincent Van Gogh. His father was a preacher and had 3 daughters and 3 sons, Van Gogh was closest to his brother Theo. As his father was a preacher, Van Gogh grew up in a religious atmosphere. He grew up lacking in self confidence and emotional stability.
A quiet boy, Van Gogh hasn’t shown any of his artistic abilities when he was still a kid. As a young man of 16, he tried working as an art’s dealer but wasn’t successful. After that he tried to follow his father’s footstep by becoming a preacher. He was able to realize his dream as an artist because of his brother Theo even if his parents doubted his capabilities. His brother kept on supporting him even if Van Gogh doubted his own abilities. He spent years honing his skills as an artist and has met a lot of people that influenced his style.
Van Gogh’s depression started to take its toll on him in the late 1888. In one of his psychotic and delusional episodes, he threatened a fellow artist, Gauguin, with a knife. Also he gave his ear as a gift to a prostitute after he cut it off. He wasn’t only suffering from depression but also had psychotic spells. Coping with his depression might be more manageable if antidepressants like Paxil were available in his time, but then again Paxil antidepressants are addicting. Even while having spells of depression, he was able to finish his Starry Night which is one of his masterpieces. His talent was not recognized during his time which greatly contributed to his depression and he was only able to sell one painting throughout his career before he shot himself to death.
Antidepressants weren’t present during Van Gogh’s time. Although there is an obvious difference between the management of mental illness of our time and his time, proper assessment of the usage of drugs like Paxil are needed for the safety of the user. Psychiatrists in the American Journal of Psychiatry have tried to figure out the true mental state of Vincent Van Gogh. Hospitalized due to his mental instability, he was only 37 when he took his own life.
URL References:
http://www.vangoghgallery.com/misc/later.html
http://depression.about.com/gi/o.htm?zi=1/XJ&zTi=1&sdn=depression&cdn=health&tm=96&f=22&tt=14&bt=0&bts=0&zu=http%3A//www.suite101.com/article.cfm/depression/20552
http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/article.aspx?articleID=175449
{ 0 коментара… прибавете свой сега }