Personology is a podcast hosted by Dr. Gail Saltz, a professor of psychiatry, to examine the psychology behind the lives and legacies of significant historical figures. On this episode, she’s joined by author Steven Naifeh, who wrote Van Gogh: A Life, to take a deep dive into his mind and moods and ponder what Vincent Van Gogh’s psychiatric diagnosis might be in modern times, how his psychology and early upbringing impacted his life and his art, and how his art was his way of calling out for connection. Though he died young, at the age of 37, Vincent was a prolific painter, creating 2,100 artworks in only ten years. And while he gained little recognition for his genius in his lifetime, he’s now known as one of the greatest artists in history.
They start with a brief overview of Vincent’s family, telling us how his parents had an arranged marriage and his mother, Anna, lost her first son in childbirth. Gail and Steven both think that led to Vincent having “replacement child syndrome,” where he constantly feared that he wasn’t as good as the first Vincent would have been. His syndrome wasn’t helped by his parents; Anna, partly due to the trauma of losing her firstborn, was “described as an angry and unhappy woman, disappointed with her lot in life.” Gail says depressed parents often have depressed children, not only because of the genetic loading, but because it can lead to “emotional neglect.” Vincent was also described as an “irascible, irritable, difficult, and unhappy” child.
Many think he suffered from bipolar disorder or schizophrenia, but Gail believes he had temporal lobe epilepsy. Though Vincent didn’t have seizures that we know of, he did have trouble relating to others, experienced major mood swings, hypersexuality, and other symptoms. Despite this, Vincent was not only highly intelligent, he had a deeply generous spirit, and seemed to be reaching out for connection desperately throughout his life. “We need to fight this notion that he was this madman who poured himself out onto his canvases in some sort of delirium,” Steven says. His paintings were very thoughtful, planned out, and brilliant in their color combinations and brushwork, and had he lived longer, he might have watched the art world fall in love with his work. “I think there’s something so magical about the fact that he pulled, out of this life of misery...these joyful images of flowers and rolling hills and bright colors...so much charm, so much beauty, so much joy out of so much misery,” Steven says. “He wrote that he wanted to console people through his art, and he did it!” Gail agrees: “In his life, he couldn’t connect and stay connected to others, but he connects to us.”
Learn more about this incredible talent, how his relationship with his younger brother Theo changed his life, and ponder whether or not Vincent’s art would have suffered had he been properly medicated for his epilepsy, on this episode of Personology.
If you want to be sure you're listening to the podcasts everyone else is checking out, iHeartRadio has you covered. Every Monday, iHeartRadio releases a chart showing the most popular podcasts of the week. Stay up to date on what's trending by checking out the chart here. There's even a chart just for radio podcasts here, featuring all your favorite iHeartRadio personalities like Bobby Bones, Elvis Duran, Steve Harvey and dozens of others.
Photo: Getty Images