The influence of ophthalmological diseases on the vision quality of famous painters

Abstract

This article represents an engagement between ophthalmology, culture, art, and knowledge. The paper reviews numerous ophthalmic pathologies that affected some of the most famous artists from all the time. The style of a painting can be created on purpose by the artist, but it can also be affected by the visual acuity. The most significant ocular diseases that might affect visual acuity and style of painting are represented by strabismus, refractive errors, cataract, retinal diseases, color vision deficiency and ocular trauma. During the time, various styles of paintings could be encountered and, very often, we wondered whether the style is influenced by the visual acuity of the artists or visual acuity does not affect at all the styles. The purpose of this study was to prove how ocular pathologies might have affected art creation during the past centuries.

Keywords: art; ophthalmology; paintings.

Fig. 1

David by Andrea del Verrocchio []

Fig. 2

Self Portrait - Rembrandt, 1639 []

Fig. 3

Self-portrait – Francis Bacon, 1971 []

Fig. 4

Still life: apples and a pot of primroses - Paul Cézanne, 1890 []

Fig. 5

Mont Sainte-Victoire and the Viaduct of the Arc River Valley - Paul Cézanne, 1882-1885 []

Fig. 6

Saint Andrew and Saint Francisc – El Greco, 1595 []

Fig. 7

Le café de nuit - van Gogh, 1888 []

Fig. 8

Self-Portrait with a Plucked Eye – Brauner, 1930