For the love of Art Vincent Van Gogh

4 Jul 2012: I love art and I am always drawn to the work of Vincent Van Gogh. I love his choice of colours and the way he saw the world in which he replicated onto canvas (probably wasn't canvas at the time).

Vincent Van Gogh was born with a brain lesion which caused him to have epilepsy seizures all of his life. His epilepsy was treated by a drug that caused him to see in yellow.

The medication Van Gogh was given also attributed to Bipolar (mania) and this caused him to be extremely enthusiastic about his art and he produced 900 painting in the span of 10 years.

Vincent's epilepsy and bipolar together contributed to him having Hypergraphia, this caused him to need to write continuously, over 800 letters in his lifetime.

Vincent van Gogh's paintings along with the 800 letters he wrote his brother and friend, Theo, were collected by his brother's wife who dedicated herself to getting his work the recognition it deserved.

I read his book some years ago and I was struck by his need to work to survive. It was as if he worked to keep the Bipolar at bay, but it was always in his shadow waiting for him to take a break so it could loom over him and take over his life. He eventually lost his life to suicide at the age of 37, but his fight to work while he was alive is exemplary as we are all the richer for his contribution to the art world.

Information gathered from: http

Van Gogh's Stary Night