The Unconquerable – Artists Who Created Despite Illness and Disability

Many artists must work without recognition or support, but is it possible to paint when every movement of the hand brings excruciating pain? Can a masterpiece be created while lying in a hospital bed? And what if eyesight fails as well? The stories of these five artists prove that great talent knows no obstacles.

Pierre-Auguste Renoir

The artist in 1910, already suffering from arthritis. Photo Wikimedia Commons

The works of this famous Impressionist radiate such joy and calm that it is hard to believe a large part of them were created amid great pain. In 1899 the painter was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis – a disease that causes joint inflammation and severe pain. What's more, in some patients, Renoir included, the disease deforms the fingers. As a result, his movements became limited, and every motion required great and painful effort. His son wrote in his memoirs: "Visitors who were unprepared for it would keep glancing at his twisted fingers. None dared to say it outright, but their reaction was betrayed by phrases such as: 'It's impossible! How can one paint with hands like that? There must be some secret to it.'" Nevertheless, Renoir kept painting until his death in 1919 and was so prolific that it remains astonishing how he could produce so many beautiful paintings when even moving his wrists caused pain. Perhaps the best answer lies in his own words: "The pain passes, but the beauty remains."

Michelangelo

Experts disagree on whether Michelangelo suffered from gout or osteoarthritis, but in either case, the painter and sculptor himself wrote that he found it hard to control his hands. The movement of his hands and feet was limited and painful.

What's more, the artist was plagued by kidney stones (which suggests the diagnosis was most likely gout). Despite everything, Michelangelo carved marble and painted almost until the venerable age of 89!

Some have blamed his poor health on hard labour, since Michelangelo indeed did not spare himself, and constant physical work can damage the joints. On the other hand, doctors recommend that arthritis patients keep moving and exercise their joints.

The Rondanini Pietà, a work Michelangelo continued until the final days of his life in 1564. Photo Wikimedia Commons

Francisco Goya

Goya is famed as one of the greatest portrait masters in art history, yet biographers divide his entire body of work into two parts – before and after his illness. It is believed that syphilis caused Goya various forms of nervous system damage. He suffered from headaches, dizziness, deafness, failing eyesight, and with age found it increasingly hard to control his right hand.

"Saturn Devouring His Son", one of the artist's last works, photo Wikimedia Commons

To treat syphilis, Goya used ointments containing toxic mercury, and most of the paints he worked with contained lead. Other factors may also have contributed to the artist's poor health. Weighed down by his deteriorating health, the painter lost weight and fell into depression, yet continued painting. He did not abandon the art world even after becoming completely deaf. His early works were more realistic, but as the illness progressed, his art grew more dramatic and filled with fantasy. Rather than robbing him of his talent as an artist, the illness steered him in a new direction.

Vincent van Gogh

It is no secret that the famous Vincent van Gogh suffered from mental illness – temporal lobe epilepsy and manic depression. As if congenital brain damage were not enough, the situation was likely worsened by his heavy consumption of absinthe. It is thought that his psychiatrist, Dr. Gachet, prescribed digitalis for the seizures, and a common side effect of this drug is the perception of yellow spots. Some art historians see a connection here with the artist's frequent use of yellow paint.

Van Gogh painted very quickly. Yet the productive periods, when he completed numerous works within a couple of weeks, alternated with depression. This suggests he suffered from manic depression, or bipolar disorder. Seized by mania, he would paint without stopping, and it is estimated that he wrote more than 800 letters in total!

"The Starry Night", 1889, painted through the window of a psychiatric hospital. Photo Wikimedia Commons

It is believed that some of his symptoms had a major influence on the art he created. For example, it is speculated that while painting "The Starry Night", due to swollen retinas the artist actually perceived halos of light around illuminated objects.

Henri Matisse

After surgery for a tumour, Henri Matisse was confined to a wheelchair, but he did not let his reduced mobility dampen his spirits. On the contrary, he was more vibrant than ever and called the last 14 years of his life une seconde vie, or a second life. Matisse said the wheelchair gave him the chance to reassess his priorities and the freedom to say and do whatever he wished.

Matisse adapted his creative methods to his changed way of life and began creating collages of cut coloured paper. Having cut out the shapes, he would direct his assistant where on a huge sheet hung on the wall to glue them. Sometimes he would mark out the composition of a future work using chalk attached to a long stick. Remember the famous blue figure of a woman? That is one of these cut-outs.

Speaking about his work, the artist once remarked that although his movement was limited, he continued to walk through gardens by means of his creations. Unable to travel as he once had, he experienced the beauty of the world through the art created by his own hands.