How Did Vincent Van Gogh Cause Epilepsy

Vincent Van Gogh, one of the most well-known post-impressionist artists, for whom color was the chief symbol of expression. He was born in Groot-Zundert, Holland on March 30, 1853.Between November of 1881 and July of 1890, Vincent van Gogh painted almost 900 paintings. Since his death, he has become one of the most famous painters in the world. Van Gogh sold only one painting in his life, the aftermath of his work is enormous. Van Gogh’s paintings have captured the minds and hearts of millions of art lovers and have made art lovers of those new to world of art. The following are some of Vincent van Gogh 's most famous paintings:

Starry Night

Sunflowers

Irises

Poppies

The Bedroom,

Hundreds of physicians and psychiatrists
Felix Rey and Dr. Peyron, believed to be caused by temporal lobe epilepsy. Van Gogh was born with a brain lesion that many doctors believe was aggravated by his prolonged use of absinthe causing his epileptic condition. Dr. Gachet, another of Van Gogh 's physicians, was thought to have treated his epilepsy with digitalis. This prescription drug can cause one to see in yellow or see yellow spots. This may have been one of the reasons why Van Gogh loved this color.
Bipolar disorder
Due to Van Gogh 's extreme enthusiasm and dedication to first religion and then art coupled with the feverish pace of his art production many believe that mania was a prominent condition in Van Gogh 's life. However, these episodes were always followed by exhaustion and depression and ultimately suicide. Therefore, a diagnosis of bipolar disorder or manic depression makes sense with the accounts of these episodes in Van Gogh 's life.
Thujone poisoning
In order to counter act his attacks of epilepsy, anxiety, and depression, Van Gogh drank absinthe, a toxic alcoholic drink popular with many artists at the time. Thujone is the toxin in absinthe. Unfortunately, the Thujone worked against Van Gogh aggravating his epilepsy and manic depression. High doses of thujone can also cause one to see objects in yellow. Various physicians have differing opinions on whether or not this is what caused Van Gogh 's affinity with
It was also noted by Dr. Peyron that during his attacks Van Gogh tried to poison himself by swallowing paint or drinking kerosene. One of the symptoms of lead poisoning is swelling of the retinas which can cause one to see light in circles like halos around objects. This can be seen in paintings like The Starry Night.
Hypergraphia
Hypergraphia is a condition causing one to need to write continuously; this disorder is commonly linked to mania and epilepsy. Some believe that the massive collection of over 800 letters Van Gogh wrote during his lifetime could be attributed to this condition.
Sunstroke
Because Van Gogh strived for realism in his paintings he was often painting outdoors especially during his times in the South of France. Some of his episodes of hostility and the nausea and "bad stomach" he refers to in his letters may have been the effects of sunstroke.
During one of his periods of depression, he shot himself and died two days later, on july 21 1890. He was 37 years old, he never knew fame but today he is one of the most celebrated of all