ART OF DESPAIR:
AN INTROSPECTION OF MADNESS THROUGH 19TH
CENTURY POST-IMPRESSIONISM
COREY MORRELL

By the late 19th century, the Impressionists had already been experimenting with
evolving artistic techniques to convey the natural beauty of the world, but it was
the visceral response of Post-Impressionists like Vincent Van Gogh and Edvard
Munch that transcended the new movement by internalizing the world around them
to use it as a window into the souls of the artists themselves. It was the later works
of Munch and Van Gogh, however, that would encompass the feelings that much of
Europe had been holding onto during this time. The art created by these two artists
would express these bubbling emotions and bring to light the hardships felt by the
people during such an unstable and uncertain time. Within the grips of madness
and despair, both VanGogh and Munch recorded their pain and mental instability
through their art, and it was the art that would foreshadow their trauma and
tragedy to come.

Despite being a time of great technological advances with a steadily rising middle
class, Europe faced many social issues and challenges in the late 19th century. The
rise of the Industrial Revolution had created new jobs and a better outlook for the
future, but the socioeconomic changes during this time created strain and
uncertainty within the population. 1 Stemming from the Napoleonic era, the rising
population and decline of village life and farming contributed to this crisis, 2
affecting people in many ways—including their mental health. Once having been
cast out by society, the mentally ill were now seen in a new light with the help of

Bergquist, James M. "Social and Political Unrest in Europe: 19th Century." Daily Life through
History, ABC-CLIO, 2018, dailylife2.abc-clio.com/Search/Display/1380908. Accessed 21 Oct.
2018.
2
Bergquist.
1

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developments in new technology and treatments. 3 Artists of this time, including
Munch and Van Gogh, struggled to cope with these changes as they sought to
express their perspective of the world through movements like Post-Impressionism.
Although differing in context and subject matter, the two artists drew various
similarities relating to their own illnesses within the framework of their art. The
work of Van Gogh and Munch could be treated as windows into the souls of two
damaged and troubled men adjusting to the immense social change during their
time and, through their art, we can strive to understand the ways in which they
communicated their mental illness to the world.
The asylum, once an institution of abuse and mistreatment, was about to be
revamped, 4 allowing patients to not only be seen as individuals, but to also receive
treatment with the aim of returning patients back to society as productive citizens.
In 1908, Munch was treated for a “psychotic episode”, 5 but his recovery allowed
him to gain new perspective, leading to some of his more mainstream works while
abandoning the morbid subject matter he came to be known for earlier in his
career. 6 Van Gogh’s hospitalization in 1889, to the same extent, enabled him to
produce some of his most manic and expressive work, exploring new depths of the
human psyche and experimenting with themes of death and illness. 7 These works,
however, would not come without consequence.
Van Gogh’s Wheatfield with Crows (see Fig. 1) can be seen as his own
interpretation of a suicide note, as it is often attributed as his last known work (the
likelihood of this, however, is uncertain). 8 Viewing this piece allows one to
confront death head on in the vast field with dark skies looming over. The crows
themselves taunt the viewer as they sweep across the sky, one after another,
reminding us of an inevitable death to come. In the distance, the horizon flows in
as if to swallow the viewer, leaving no room for escape. 9 The neon-indigo coloured
sky threatens the only possibility to break free, this being the two small clouds,
perhaps symbolizing hope in the face of death. 10 The wheat field itself—a symbol
of life—battles with the angry sky fighting for room in the limited amount of space
available in the frame. In an almost biblical subversion, we get dark from above
domineering over light from below. Only one can prevail, but which is it? Perhaps
Goldin, Grace. “Asylum.” Grove Art Online, 2003, Oxford Art Online,
http://www.oxfordartonline.com/groveart/view/10.1093/gao. Accessed 21 Oct. 2018.
4
Goldin.
5
Baughman, Marjie L., and McCay Vernon. “Art, Madness, and Human Interaction.” Art Journal,
vol. 31, no. 4, 1972, pp. 413-420. https://www.jstor.org/stable775545. Accessed 21 Oct. 2018, pp.
415.
6
Baughman & Vernon, pp. 415.
7
Ibid, pp. 413.
8
Sund, Judy. Van Gogh. Phaidon Press, 2002.
9
Wallace, Robert. The World of Van Gogh, 1853-1890. Time-Life Books, 1969, pp. 165.
10
Wallace, pp. 166.
3

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the most troubling aspect of the piece is the road to nowhere. The dirt path curving
into the field gives one final sense of optimism until we realize that it seemingly
cuts off, leading to an empty nothingness—to a dead end. 11 Van Gogh said himself,
in a letter to his brother Theo, that he had “no difficulty expressing ‘sadness and
loneliness’ [in the last of his paintings]”, 12 which can most evidently be noticed in
this particular piece. Although Wheatfields with Crows may not have been his final
work, it was indeed his final stand, perhaps one final confrontation with death.
As seen in Fig. 2, Munch’s The Scream evokes feelings of uneasiness, fear, sadness,
and empathy for the figure standing on the pier. Munch said that at this time in his
life he was hearing the scream all around him. This unbearable “scream” made it
difficult to do the slightest of tasks—like crossing the street—as doing so would
cause “great dizziness at the slightest height”. 13 As a viewer, it is easy to get lost in
The Scream as it induces a dizziness and sense of unbalance. 14 The deafening sound
of the scream causes the figure to hold its ears in an attempt to reserve its last ounce
of sanity. As we divert our focus from the psychological experience of this faceless
figure, 15 we notice the unorthodox perspective of the surrounding curved space,
juxtaposed with the perfectly straight diagonal lines, creating a barrier between the
sane and insane mind. The faceless figure, lacking any sense of gender or selfidentity gets lost in the encapsulating environment as its twisting and turning body
becomes one with the landscape. 16 The figure standing before us, full of despair
and anxiety, now becomes part of its environment as it suffers a “loss of identity
[and] becomes death”. 17
When comparing and contrasting The Scream (Fig. 2) with Wheatfield with Crows
(Fig. 1), the two works can be approached similarly, both thematically and
contextually. Knowing that Wheatfield with Crows is considered to be Van Gogh’s
final goodbye, it is only fitting that shortly after completion of this work, he decided
to end his own life in a wheat field under the menacing skies of Arles. 18 The fact
that he was most likely suffering from Schizophrenia 19 may help us understand
what he was feeling when working on Wheatfield with Crows. Van Gogh has
distorted the environment in a way that forces us to witness it through the lens of a

Ibid.
Ibid.
13
Heller, Reinhold. Munch: The Scream. Penguin Press, 1973, pp. 67.
14
Heller, pp. 78.
15
Ibid.
16
Heller, pp. 90.
17
Ibid.
18
Sund, pp. 302.
19
Prinzhorn, Hans. “Genius and Madness”. Parnassus, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1930, pp. 19-30+44. JSTOR,
https://www.jstor.org/stable/797739. Accessed 21 Oct. 2018.
11
12

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man struggling with mental illness. 20 The wheat field functions as a metaphor for
life—for hope—and Van Gogh’s tormented soul was in a state of angst as he
struggled to express his grief and his fears, 21 but to also communicate a feeling of
hopefulness. It is as though he feels undecided, much like his botched attempt at
suicide by shooting himself directly under the heart. 22 The Scream, however, can
be seen as a more literal interpretation of its creator’s psychological state. When
Munch created The Scream, he was manifesting a literal, tangible suffering,
conveyed by the expression of fear on the figure’s face. The Scream becomes a
confession of his own personal fears and psychological digression while also
attempting to communicate his need to acknowledge and comprehend his
condition. 23 He utilizes many of Van Gogh’s techniques 24 to inject a meandering
and gentle river of crimson throughout the sky and, and in contrast, the piercing
blue of the water. The colours blend into one another, interweaving across the
canvas, whereas Wheatfield with Crows uses colour in a more objective sense to
indicate emotions of separation within one’s own psyche by using a jarring,
horizontal detachment between the sky and the field to contrast the blues and
yellows. Munch’s figure, in The Scream, feels alone in this apprehensive world as
two passersby walk along seemingly unaffected by the terrifying landscape,
mirroring the reality of most of the people around Munch himself. It is a stark
contrast to the isolation he had felt inside of his own mind. The demonic world in
front of Munch taunted him with every ounce of fear and sadness, 25 much like the
figure who palms their ears in the hopes of stopping the pulsating sounds from
rising and falling. 26 These two works, when compared from a psychological
standpoint, work to serve and support one another through the lens of the suffering
mind. The Scream acts as a cry for help in a confusing world much like how
Wheatfield with Crows does by using the vast landscape and interjecting colours to
explore the depths of one’s sanity.
The late 19th century was a time of turbulence and instability for the people of
France, many of whom had fallen on hard times during the ever-changing world
around them. While the economy was unkind to most, it hit the poorer communities
the hardest. Among them were farmers and shopkeepers, artisans and
countryfolk—individuals struggling with inner turmoil while trying to make ends
meet. 27 This struggle can be seen in Van Gogh’s Interior of the Night Café in Arles,
“The Turn to Modernism: Art and Architecture." World Eras, edited by James R. Farr, vol. 9:
Industrial Revolution in Europe, 1750-1914, Gale, 2003, pp. 70-76. Gale Virtual Reference
Library, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3035400037/GVRL. Accessed 21 Oct. 2018.
21
Wallace, pp. 166.
22
Sund, pp. 302.
23
Heller, pp. 56.
24
Ibid, pp. 80.
25
Tojner, Paul E. Munch: In his Own Words. Forget Press, 2003, pp. 16.
26
Tojner, pp. 21.
27
Bergquist.
20

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evoking a sense of despair in the bar patrons as they hopelessly rest their heads in
their arms. Van Gogh’s own time spent in the town of Arles was turbulent, as it was
the place where his psychosis would peak, leaving him hospitalized and eventually
ending his own life, 28 not too far from the Café. He was an outsider himself, and
painted a room representing his own feelings of desperation and anguish, with his
goal being to express the “terrible passions of humanity” 29 in the form of colour.
The walls, almost blood red (mirroring Munch’s sky in The Scream), strike a harsh
contrast with the green billiards table arousing a feeling of dreadfulness. This clash
of colours creates a striking acidic-like effect as the tormented and tortured souls
of the Café gives the viewer a glimpse into the dark underbelly of the night. 30 As
Van Gogh once said of the painting, “the café is a place where one can ruin oneself,
go mad or commit a crime,” 31 an appropriate sentiment by a man who was all but
immersed in the café society.
Munch’s Anxiety (Fig. 4), on the other hand, does not rely on the body language of
the subjects and the space around them, but more so on the facial expressions of the
subjects to relay the inner emotional truth of them to the viewer. Munch, once
described people as wearing masks; on the outside they are smiling and composed,
but underneath—only suffering. 32 When analyzing Anxiety, it forces us to ask the
question: what are these people feeling? This exploration into the human psyche is
what the people of the time were not able to accept within their limited view of the
world, and Munch’s need to explore the dark corners of the mind to “reveal… the
unmentionable” 33 is what separated him from his contemporaries. As an expression
of fear and mental instability, Anxiety lends itself to this idea. Because of the stark
whiteness of the figures against the background, our eye is drawn to the subjects’
wide gaze and bland expressions as they attempt to cross the threshold into our
reality. Everyone in the crowd shares a similar unnerving leer which creates anxiety
and unease within us by reaching deep into our own psyche and forcing us to
confront our fears. The pale figures march toward us in a tight and claustrophobic
trance, suggesting the group to be in some sort of emotionally stoic state. 34 The
viewers eye is then forced above to the sky where flowing red and orange colours
dance and fuse with tints of green. Munch’s use of these colours, spiraling out of
control into the abyss, creates a psychedelic experience for the viewer, allowing
one to fully give in to the acidic trance of the landscape. It is as if Munch had taken
all of the bottled-up trauma that he had experienced throughout his life and offered
it to Anxiety, giving in fully, just as the viewer does.
Baughman &Vernon, pp. 413.
Wallace, pp. 93.
30
Ibid, pp. 113.
31
Ibid, pp. 93.
32
Clarke, Jay A. Becoming Edvard Munch: Influence, Anxiety, and Myth. Yale University Press,
2009, pp. 88.
33
Tojner, pp. 12.
34
Clarke, pp. 88.
28
29

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Munch felt that he had only two ways to express himself emotionally: either so
violently that it could bring on a nervous breakdown, or so empty that he felt only
a “soul-searching melancholy”. 35 It could be argued that Van Gogh felt much the
same way. The colours used in both Anxiety and Night Café encapsulate the feelings
of despair and entrapment. The blood red sky in Anxiety comes forth, mocking us,
much like the marching figures, backing the viewer into a wall with their own
pulsating anxiety. The Night Café, to the same effect, reminds us that the bar
patrons are hopeless, as the harsh colours of the walls begin to weigh on the people,
pushing them down further and further with no escape. When it came to colour in
art, Van Gogh’s goal was to create something out of the reach of rationality. 36 While
Munch’s Anxiety reminds us of the ugliness of the world, 37 not allowing us the
option of escape, the Night Café, we realize upon closer inspection, provides a sense
of hope. The doorway to the centre of the room is the escape that the people need,
right there in front of them yet they cannot seem to lift their heavy heads to take
notice. If they could only get up and walk out, maybe they could be saved—and
perhaps Van Gogh with them.
Both artists, blessed with brilliance and afflicted with pain, struggled their entire
lives to effectively communicate the inner workings of their suffering minds
through the context of their art. Through their art, the world has been given the gift
of wonder, of sorrow and sadness, of despair and of hope, and the gift of vicarious
exploration. Through their expression of mental illness, we try to understand them
not only as artists, but as two men suffering from pain. They lived in a time of great
change and hardship, but despite all of the advancements for the mentally ill, it was
not enough in the end. Their minds, as brilliant as they were, ended up becoming
their own worst enemies and ultimately led them to a life of destruction and despair;
they stand in that open field, darkening skies above with no road out; they
reluctantly join the crowd, being forcefully backed into the corner of darkness,
suffocated by the encroaching faces. Their art provides windows into the souls of
brilliance, madness, grief and love; we peer in only to find ourselves, as reflections
of the art, empathizing with the subjects and the artists through emotional truth
universally shared among one another; their art reflects the fear, sadness, joy, and
wonder of the world around us; they reflect the souls of people, of humanity; they
reflect the souls of us.

Tojner, pp. 63.
Wallace, pp. 39.
37
Heller, pp. 95.
35
36

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Figure 1: Vincent van Gogh, Dutch. Wheatfield with Crows. 1890.
Artstor, library-artstor-org.ezproxy.langara.bc.ca/asset/AIC_30038

Figure 2: Edvard Munch, (Norwegian painter, printmaker, and draftsman, 18631944). The Scream. 1910.
Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/AWSS35953_35953_25515088

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Fig. 3. Vincent van Gogh, 1853-1890. Interior of the Night Cafe in Arles. 1888.
Artstor, library.artstor.org/asset/ARTSTOR_103_41822000701449

Figure 4: Edvard Munch, Anxiety, 1894. “Google Arts & Culture.” Arts and
Culture, https://artsandculture.google.com/asset/anxiety/JgE_nwHHS7wTPw.
Accessed 2 Nov. 2018

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BIBLIOGRAPHY
BAUGHMAN, MARJIE L., AND MCCAY VERNON. “Art, Madness, and Human
Interaction.” Art Journal, vol. 31, no. 4, 1972, pp. 413-420. JSTOR,
https://www.jstor.org/stable775545. Accessed 21 Oct. 2018.
BERGQUIST, JAMES M. "Social and Political Unrest in Europe: 19th Century."
Daily Life through History, ABC-CLIO, 2018, dailylife2.abcclio.com/Search/Display/1380908. Accessed 21 Oct. 2018.
CLARKE, JAY A. Becoming Edvard Munch: Influence, Anxiety, and Myth. Yale
University Press, 2009.
GOLDIN, GRACE. “Asylum.” Grove Art Online, 2003, Oxford Art Online,
http://www.oxfordartonline.com/groveart/view/10.1093/gao. Accessed 21
Oct. 2018.
HELLER, REINHOLD. Munch: The Scream. Penguin Press, 1973.
“Post-Impressionism Movement Overview.” The Art Story, n.d.
https://www.theartstory.org/movement/post-impressionism/. Accessed 21
Feb. 2020.
PRINZHORN, HANS. “Genius and Madness”. Parnassus, Vol. 2, No. 1, 1930, pp.
19-30+44. JSTOR, https://www.jstor.org/stable/797739. Accessed 21 Oct.
2018.
SUND, JUDY. Van Gogh. Phaidon Press, 2002.
“The Turn to Modernism: Art and Architecture." World Eras, edited by James R.
Farr, vol. 9: Industrial Revolution in Europe, 1750-1914, Gale, 2003, pp. 7076. Gale Virtual Reference Library,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/CX3035400037/GVRL. Accessed 21 Oct.
2018.
TOJNER, PAUL E. Munch: In his Own Words. Forget Press, 2003.
WALLACE, ROBERT. The World of Van Gogh, 1853-1890. Time-Life Books, 1969.

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