By Joene Hendry
NEW YORK, Jul 27 (Reuters Health) - Did Vincent van Gogh's liberal use of
yellow in his paintings stem from his creativity or from toxins in his blood? If
doctors caring for the artist--or those consulted by Benvenuto Cellini or
musician Niccolo Paganini-- had had access to the clinical tests available now,
the illnesses that affected these men could have been identified, one expert
believes.
Dr. Paul Wolf of the University of California at San Diego and the Veterans
Administration Medical Center presented his findings Wednesday at the 52nd
annual meeting of the American Association for Clinical Chemistry in San
Francisco, California.
The paradox of the diseases that affected these famous men is that diagnosis
may have prolonged their lives--but may also have limited the creativity that we
are the beneficiaries of today, Wolf told Reuters Health.
For example, Wolf noted that van Gogh (1853-1890) frequently drank the
liqueur absinthe, which contains the compound thujone. Research has shown that
thujone not only fuels creativity, but also that an overdose of the compound
causes yellow-tinged vision, Wolf said.
In addition, van Gogh's epilepsy was treated with digoxin from the foxglove
plant (digitalis purpurea). His famous work, "The Starry Night" contains yellow
circles around the stars, which are similar to visual problems described by
patients with digoxin toxicity even today, Wolf said.
Either absinthe or digoxin toxicity may have contributed to van Gogh's
increasing use of the color yellow in the last years of his life--or van Gogh
may simply have loved the color yellow, Wolf told Reuters Health. A modern
clinical chemistry lab could have solved these mysteries.
Wolf reported that Italian Renaissance sculptor Benvenuto Cellini
(1500-1571) and violinist Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840) both had a silver gray
coloration to their skin, consistent with mercury toxicity. Cellini was believed
to have been intentionally poisoned with mercury, while it is believed that
Paganini developed mercury toxicity because of its use at the time in the
treatment of syphilis. Modern clinical chemistry would have detected these
toxicities, Wolf said.
Medical experts also believe that Italian violin virtuoso Paganini had
Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, an inherited connective tissue disease that causes the
skin to be capable of extra stretching, and increased flexibility of the joints.
Wolf speculates that Paganini was able to play the violin with extensive reach
and great rapidity because of this syndrome. "Clinical chemistry testing could
have identified whether Paganini actually had Ehlers-Danlos syndrome," he said.
Unfortunately, blood and tissue samples from these individuals are not
available for such testing. "Even though we have made great strides to identify
illnesses...we should admit that we may never know the true causes of such
geniuses' problems," Wolf said. "At the end of the day...we should simply enjoy
the art and music they left for us."
