Alternative topics 5: Was Vincent Van Gogh autistic?

Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) is one of the most famous artists of the 19th century, and ties with Rembrandt as the best Dutch artist of all time. Mr van Gogh's life was rather chaotic, though, even for an artist: two years after severing his right ear during a psychotic episode he committed suicide aged just 37, and most of his art did not achieve international recognition until after he died. 

He also had significant social problems throughout his life. He never married, and in fact he unknowingly alienated several people, including relatives and mentors, in his attempts to pursue marriage. In 1881, he tried to persuade his cousin, Cornelia "Kee" Vos to marry him, but she adamantly refused; not only was it completely inappropriate for him to pursue her because they were closely related but also she was 7 years his senior and his lack of income put her off; Vincent Van Gogh was unaware of these barriers and drove her away with his obsessive pursuit.  His only romantic relationship of note was with a prostitute called Sien (Clasina Maria Hoornik) who whilst pregnant posed for much of his artwork, some of which is now in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

He also had substantial trouble finding and keeping stable employment despite his talents, and frequently relied on his brother Theo for financial support during his lifetime. He felt uncomfortable in environments that did not pertain to his talents, and found building relationships with other artists very difficult; the fraught relationship between him and French post-impressionist painter Paul Gauguin is the most prominent example of this.

The main issue with retrospective diagnosis here is that Vincent Van Gogh died long before autism was even named, let alone widely known. He was merely seen in his time as eccentric and strange, although he also had mental health issues. However in his case there is enough detail about his life to make a useful analysis.

Arguments for Vincent Van Gogh being autistic:

Clearly poor social skills in comparison to his artistic and intellectual abilities.
Particularly repetitive nature of his art.
He had significant difficulties with communication, which is partly why he corresponded by letter so often. As a direct result he was unable to get the recognition his artwork masterpieces deserved whilst he was still alive.

Arguments against Vincent Van Gogh being autistic:

Some of his social problems can be attributed more to mental illness than autism.
Many aspects of his mental health can be explained by other conditions.

Arguably, it can be said that Vincent Van Gogh was indeed autistic with co-morbid mental health issues, given that his social communication problems stemmed from childhood although they did not become prominent until he actually became an artist.




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