Friendly reminder that Vincent van Gogh willingly checked himself into an asylum so that he could get better, resulting in him creating some of the most iconic paintings of his entire career, done in the asylum, when he was being treated 24/7, because he finally didn’t have to struggle with his demons and could instead focus on his muse, WHICH WERE TWO DIFFERENT THINGS!
Remember this little insignificant painting?
How about this one?
Check this one out:
All of these and more were painted in the asylum when he was receiving treatment for his mental illnesses and I know I just said that but I said it again and I’m saying it a third time until you dramatic abled assholes understand!
VINCENT VAN GOGH
– KNEW THAT HE WAS MENTALLY ILL
– WANTED TO CHANGE THAT
– WENT TO AN ASYLUM
– GOT THE HELP HE NEEDED
– PAINTED SOME ICONIC MASTERPIECES AS A RESULT!
SO DON’T YOU DARE COME OUT HERE WITH THIS, “I WISH I WAS DEPRESSED SO I COULD BE AS CREATIVE AS VAN GOGH” BULLSHIT BECAUSE EVEN HE KNEW THAT HIS DEMONS WERE HARMING HIS WORK, AND MORE IMPORTANTLY, HIS HEALTH, AND HE DID EVERYTHING WITHIN HIS POWER TO FIGHT THEM EVERY SINGLE DAY OF HIS LIFE, UNTIL THEY ENDED UP WINNING!
Although I like the point your trying to get across, pushing through mental illness by seeking he help of others, Vincent Van Gogh’s days in the asylum were not the highlight of his life where he got better
For context, Vincent checks himself into the asylum shortly after he cuts off his ear, an event caused by the departure of Paul Gauguin (another artist, who Vincent was liveing with due to Vincent’s dreams of gathering up artists to create new types of art)
During a disagreement about art Ganguin threatens to leave and Vincent ,in response, threatens him with a straight razor. The argument eventually leads into the streets where Vincent ,realizing the situation, blots back inside, later cutting off his ear and presenting it to a prostitute in the next door café and returning to his room. The prostitute, horrified, gets the police and Vincent is arrested in his home, bleeding to death.
Vincent then ,realizing that he is mentally unstable, knows that he needs help. However he can’t turn to his friends or family because his parents are dead, Vincent doesn’t want to further strain the relationship he has with his brother (who was supporting Vincent financially and just got married), most if not all of the people in Arles were afraid of him. So as a last ditch effort he goes to the Saint Paul asylum.
Please keep in mind, Vincent lives in the early twentieth century at the latest in his life. Vincent checks in the asylum in may 1889 and leaves a year later, dining that year he is subjected to ice baths, lives in prison like conditions, and lives in a cell to the point where all of his paintings that he does out his window , INCLUDEINH THE STARRY NIGHT, have the bars edited out
In may of 1890 Vincent checks himself out and moves to northern France and continues painting
This is his last painting “wheat fields with crows” it was painted two months after Vincent left Saint Paul’s asylum where Vincent was bothered by the crows watching the wheat and asked a farmer if he could barrow the farmer’spistol to shoot the crows, the farmer agreed and handed Vincent the pistol.
Two shots were heard, one for the crown another for himself
Sadly Vincent did not just die that day, he died of the infection
Note:
This isn’t an attack on the OP or depression I do think that mental illness is a problem and although Vincent is famous for his pices in the asylum and his mental illness but there was a time before and that’s the part of Vincent that I like better an optomistic artist who wants to change the from. And did.
-Vincent Van Gogh “the pink orchard” 1887
Yeah, Van Gogh was miserable in the asylum. To suggest otherwise is ahistorical, revisionist, and dangerous.
It’s also dangerous to assume that institutionalization helps everyone. Abuse still occurs in psychicatric wards, although thankfully, to a lesser extent.
It’s important for people to be aware of what they’re getting into – to do research – before self-admitting.
It’s also important to have a contact outside of the ward and a keyword (one author used “watermelon”) as a distress signal to communicate abuse. This way, the contact can work on getting you out of there.
Get help, but also, be careful.
@yamitamiko I know you probably didn’t mean any harm but here, more info.
Death By Catchphrase 