![]() While in an asylum in Saint Rémy, he drew one of his most famous and loved masterpieces, The Starry Night, 1889. Vincent van Gogh’s Sunflowers, 1888–1889, van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, painted in three shades of yellow (From ) Santonin, a drug used to treat gastrointestinal disturbances, which the artist was known to suffer from, could also be the drug responsible for his xanthopsia. Additionally, the consumption of absinthe, a popular liquor in France in that period, could have also resulted in his xanthopsia. ![]() Prolonged and toxic doses of digitalis are known to produce xanthopsia. One can see the foxglove plant in the painting of Dr. ![]() A possible cause could be that he was being treated for his manic depressive state by digitalis. Walsh and Hoyt list 13 chemicals that can result in xanthopsia. Historians and scholars have suggested that van Gogh was suffering from a condition known as xanthopsia, which results in the person seeing yellow. But what stands out to anybody who lays eyes on them is the color yellow! The yellow color also dominates many of his Self Portraits, The Bedroom, and The Yellow House. He found the beauty in the drying or budding flowers. A stark contrast from the large, blooming blossoms that one associates with sunflowers, van Gogh drew them in a more subdued form. The Sunflowers, 1888–1889, a set of five paintings that Vincent envisioned and drew have fascinated connoisseurs and even lay persons for years. Nonetheless, his art is a reflection of the beauty and turmoil that lay within one of the most misunderstood artists of his time. Perhaps the most talented and tragic of the lot, van Gogh, attained recognition posthumously having sold only a single painting in his lifetime. In this issue, we explore the world of art through the eyes of some of the greatest artists in history. In the absence of any documented details or medical diagnosis, many of them remain speculations. Several studies have tried to analyze these, and many have hypothesized the medical reasons for some great artists which could have influenced their way of art. Why did van Gogh draw swirling clouds? Why were Monet’s bridges suddenly darker in tone than the water lilies in the pond? We often wonder if they drew what they saw or what they perceived. "Somehow, under my feet, Hebrides is home.“ I never paint dreams or nightmares. She was, however, glad to be able to show some of her remaining Skye paintings to her teacher and mentor, professor emeritus John W. All too soon her money ran out, and she reluctantly returned to the United States. While living on Skye, Palmer exhibited her paintings at the art center on the island, where she received a warm reception from the people and sold half her paintings. "It is an ongoing challenge to me to simplify-to have nothing on the canvas that is not necessary." I love being in the marsh, in the fields, in the hills," she says. "For me, painting is a way to respond to what I see in the landscape. With rich, luminous colors, and simple yet striking compositions, Palmer's works reflect an elusive, ever-changing landscape that she says she could paint for a lifetime. Working in oil and water colors, Palmer often painted six to nine hours a day, capturing the island's dramatic, almost theatrical light as it played on the rolling fields, the stark mountain ranges and the surrounding sea and sky. "It seemed like a huge risk to give up my job and financial security, but eventually I realized that the worst thing that could happen was that the money would run out in two years, and I'd have to return." I don't paint for money I paint because I need to," she says. "I didn't want to wait until retirement to do what I feel I do best. The island's pull on the artist grew so strong that she eventually acquired an artist's visa and moved there in 1995. She returned each year to paint, but continued to work as a scientific illustrator in New Hampshire. "I thought, the landscape, the light-I'm home," she says. A decade ago, when landscape painter Sherry Palmer '69, '75G traveled to the Isle of Skye, in the Inner Hebrides off the northwest coast of Scotland, she found the perfect catalyst to further her art.
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