These people were the world’s greatest artists and they were much, much more than their depression. They worked through there overwhelming negative feelings through paintbrushes and created something truly beautiful. Sometimes when people channel these kinds of negative intense emotions, they can create something powerful without even realizing it. In this case, that power can be seen through the vivid colors, the otherworldly landscapes, the enigmatic expressions on faces and the thorough brush strokes.

Edgar Degas: Depression

Degas was a visual spectator. He painted not only what he saw but how it felt to be there. In particular, his paintings of ballerinas tell a story of nervous tension and excitement.

“Degas’ focus was on contour and form. A superb draftsman, he filled pages of sketchbooks with exquisite studies that reveal his drawing skills” Colleen 2015

Sadly he began losing his eyesight around the 1880’s. This was severely devastating to him as he could no longer perfectly capture the beauty and grace of his subjects. What he never knew was that his paintings would become timeless and he would become one of the most famous artist’s of all time. The subjects that he captured would live forever and the beauty would be appreciated all over the world.

“..in the 1880s, Degas suffers from bouts of depression and aimlessness. “I’m blocked, impotent. I’ve lost the thread,” he wrote in a letter in 1884. The turmoil of midlife leads Degas to redefine the goal of his art away from the narrative and toward a deeply reflective expressionism – toward art for art’s sake, rather than as a window on the world” Scott Tyson, 1996

Vincent Van Gogh: Schizophrenia/Bi-Polar

Van Gogh is nearly as well known for his struggle with mental illness as he is for his art. This is mainly because he famously severed his own ear in 1888. There have been many speculations about why this event occurred (see below).

Professor Arko Oderwald explains that the “..ear incident “could come from alcohol intoxication, lack of sleep, work stress and troubles with Gauguin, who was going to leave.” (The two artists were close friends, and Van Gogh had hoped that their living together would be the start of a larger artists’ colony) (Cascone, 2016).

In 2016, Henri Neuendorf wrote that a “new study finds link Between Van Gogh’s Choice of Colors and His Mental Health. He further explains his palette became darker as his psyche declined.” After years in the sunlight and in storage the paint would have deteriorated. Neuendorf (2016) further explains that “researchers at the AAAS used an analysis technique known as x-ray fluorescence spectrometry to show that the artist painted each version progressively darker. The scientists suggest that the change was due to the gradual unraveling of the troubled artist’s psyche.”

“At first glance, they all look the same,” Casadio said, “But when you go deeper you can start to see that they tell us far more about the artist’s life and his quest for a home” (Neuendorf, 2016)

Paul Gauguin: Depression

Gauguin spent 9 weeks living and working alongside Vincent van Gogh in the Provençal town of Arles (artnet, 2018). It is said that he became ‘..disillusioned with France, Gauguin ventured to the Tahiti and the neighboring islands, where he infamously took up with indigenous women, painting them nude in mysterious scenes’ (artnet, 2018). This is where he created the paintings that would later become world famous. The beautiful simplicity of shape and color would astound many audiences. Gauguin’s once said, “don’t paint too much directly from nature. Art is an abstraction,”

Michelangelo: Depression and Autism

“One of the Renaissance’s most prolific and popular artists is almost as infamous for his melancholic misanthropy as he is the masterful frescoes, sculptures, poems and architectural works he created” (nursingschools.net, 2010)

You might have wondered in the past just how someone could paint something as huge as the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel. According to a paper published in the Journal of Medical Biography in 2004, Michelangelo’s single-minded routine may have been due to the disorder. According to descriptions by his contemporaries, the painter was “preoccupied with his own reality.” Most of the male members of his family are recorded to have exhibited similar symptoms. Michelangelo also seems to have had difficulty forming relationships with people; he had few friends and didn’t even attend his brother’s funeral. All of this, combined with his obvious genius in math and art, led the researchers to believe that today Michelangelo would be considered high functioning on the autism spectrum (BENJAMIN, 2012)

Edvard Munch: Panic attacks

The world’s most famous painting ‘The Scream’ was inspired by a panic attack experienced by to Edvard Munch in Olso during January 1892. Munch recorded the episode in his diary:

“One evening I was walking along a path, the city was on one side and the fjord below. I felt tired and ill. I stopped and looked out over the fjord—the sun was setting, and the clouds turning blood red. I sensed a scream passing through nature” (BENJAMIN, 2012)

This experience affected the artist so deeply he compulsively returned to this pivotal moment again and again. This event led to him making two paintings, two pastels, and a lithograph based on his experience. He also wrote a poem in his daily diary describing it. It isn’t known if Munch had any more panic attacks although mental illness did run in his family (his bipolar sister was in an asylum).

Frida Kahlo: Depression

Frida Kahlo wasn’t a stranger to mental illness. The life and work of this inspiring artist illustrate an uncanny amount of pain, suffering, and loss’ (Campese, 2015). She was diagnosed with minor depression, experienced two major depressive episodes and suicide attempts throughout her lifetime Savannah 2018.

“According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness: “Kahlo was diagnosed with minor depression, but experienced two major depressive episodes and suicide attempts during her lifetime…Her apparent dissociation and identity issues lead many researchers and historians to believe that Kahlo suffered from an array of mental illnesses—from posttraumatic stress disorder to bipolar disorder to dissociative identity disorder”” (Campese, 2015).

We all have the potential to channel our energy and create something. It doesn’t have to be a painting. It can be whatever brings you joy. These artists have proven time and time again that beauty can be created from pain.