N. N. N. 5-ART SCHOOL-MEDICAL ANTROPOLOGY, COLORS AND EMOTIONS-The chromatic models of Vincent VAN GOGH, the COLOR MUSICIAN (Part One)

Vincent van Gogh, Tournesols,

(Girasoli), 1888,

Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam

At some point in his life Vincent Van Gogh described himself as a ′′ Color Musician ′′ (Gayford, 2006). The cross-experience of a feeling in another sensory system characterizes both a field of psychophysics and the very concept of synesthesia (Harrison & Baron-Cohen, 1996). The association that music, mixed with color, can be perceived together can also be applied to the expression of one's emotions.

Van Gogh initially learned how to portray his visual environment accurately and naturally. He was, however, deeply affected and ultimately dominated by the intensity of his inner emotional experience. At some point, his canvases began to reflect this inner intensity. After about ten years of his career, there has been a change in his use of colors, with particular regard to their material dimension that almost came to violence. There have also been other signs, but in this short post we want to focus mainly on the size of this intensity.

For example, the energy and texture of his creative production were exceptional: he painted seventy canvases in seventy days. His creative impulse was so vehemently that many of his paintings were not completely complete, leaving empty spots on the canvas, for the rush to start another one. Our intent, therefore, is to show that the intensity of the colors used by Van Gogh can be a clear sign of his mental problems.

According to a psycho-physical approach (Stevens, 1971), all sensory systems show similar exponential gradients of perceived intensity. Similarly, Sullivan (1973) applied this principle to anxiety and showed that emotions follow a similar gradient of psychophysical intensity. Using quantitative measurements (estimate of magnitude), results have shown that auditory stimuli can be crossed with anxiety and can be used to estimate the extent of anxiety the individual is experiencing.

Data have shown that anxiety follows the same powerful function already found in other sensory systems. This way you can deduce cross sensations.
Traditionally, the links between the artist s' work and their mental state have been examined in terms of content (Trachtman, 2009). Art experts examined the artist's work more than its form, seeking a connection to his mental state. An example can be seen in Caravaggio's painting exams with a possible diagnosis of paranoid schizophrenia (Mather, 2007). We suggest that form (which can be objective and quantifiable) can be an equally interpretive measure.

Looking at shape rather than content, should provide a very different perspective through which we can search for evidence that shows the existence of a correspondence between the emotional intensity and the intensity of its visual representation.

There have been some studies that examined paintings of psychiatric patients, correlating color, intensity, quality of the lines and covered space (Hacking, et. al, 1996) with related psychiatric problems. Hacking suggested that the evaluation of content such as bizarre images, disconnections, inappropriate or messy colors, reiterations and choice of subjects require subjective interpretation by the examiner, and therefore are limited in objectivity. If a form can be quantified and correlated with a mental disorder, then a potentially quantifiable link between mental functioning and creative production can be established.

It would then be possible to correlate the continuous gradual changes in mental functioning and their relationships with mental illness, examining key markers of forms. In fact, D ' Andrade and Egan (1974) found that there were differences in psychiatric diagnoses based on an examination of lines and colors.
According to the basic color theory (Lefton, 2008), color has three physical dimensions (wavelength, intensity and purity) that correspond to 3 psychological elements: shade, brightness and saturation. Van Gogh's work showed distinctive change in all these psychological features.

Part of its interest in color and brightness is technical and focuses on shape, but the dynamic change in its use of color, especially with regard to intensity, reflects a change in its emotional experience. We therefore think that the increase in his emotional energy is reflected in his visual images with a parallel increase in exponential intensity. In the last part of life his work was dominated by the strength of his psychological experience and less by the precision of his sensory experience.

Van Gogh, over 10 years, has produced a remarkable body of works, over 700 pieces. He also repeated the same images over and over again, in such a way that he allowed the longitudinal examination of color change over time.
An example of the contemporary change, its use of colors and the significant deterioration of its mental state can be seen in the Seminator.

Vincent was temporarily affected by Millet's painting and during his early years he made many reproductions. His initial work tended to a meticulous and faithful reproduction of the original, both in shape and style (Metzger, and Walther, 1996). A drawing of the sower, ink and pencil, made in 1882 in The Hague, is An example of his attempt to permeate his figures with an energy that is then conveyed through color. During this early period, Van Gogh tended to realistically adhere to what he saw in nature, but later began to use ′′ color based on its visual impact... rather than its loyalty to nature ". (Walther & Metzger, 1996, p. 58).
It will follow - Part 2 in next post no. 6.

Maximus Roger
Club president for UNESCO in Genoa metropolitan city
President of International Action Art-ITALY

NOTE. For further information on the subject, please refer to Karen G's study. Bekker, Professor of Psychology at Dominican College, New York and Alex Y. Bekker, professor of anesthesiology and neurosurgery at the New York University Medical Center, on Colour and Emotion in Vincent Van Gogh's paintings.

Massimo Ruggero