How Has Humanitys Understanding of Mental Health Changed over Time, as

Demonstrated through Art?

Our understanding of mental health has developed over the centuries and this has inevitably affected
artists depictions of the subject. Studying the history of mental health within art will provide me with
a deeper understanding of what it means to communicate this important global health issue to an
audience and the implications my work will have. My intention with this project is to create a final
piece of work that communicates the experience of a mental illness- or indeed, multiple illnesses- thus
enabling the audience to better understand this topic and be more sympathetic of sufferers. Therefore
by analysing the work of previous artists who have approached this topic I will be able to highlight
misconceptions and oversimplifications that have been made in the past, thus helping to make my work
more accurate in nature.

Mental health is seen by most as a contemporary issue, only truly

being recognised as a medical subject during the twentieth
century. However, in truth it has roots from many centuries past
but at the time it was mistaken as a religious experience, such
as demonic possession. Evidence to support this can be found in
artworks from the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, such as
Vittore Carpaccios painting The Healing of the Possessed Man
at the Rialto from 1496. Upon initial inspection this painting
appears to show an everyday glimpse at bustling life in Venice,
but when looking closer the viewer sees a man on the balcony
being healed by a priest. This reveals the way in which mental
illness was instead believed at the time to be a religious
experience of demonic possession rather than a medical or social issue. The extremely detailed
composition of the painting suggests that this interaction between the priest and the Possessed Man is
not intended by Carpaccio to be the main focal point, but instead has been composed in this way to
show the viewer that demonic possession was perhaps not an uncommon phenomenon of the time.
Given that mental health charity Mind recently stated that one in four people in the UK will experience
a mental health issue each year, it is somewhat unsurprising that Carpaccio has portrayed the
Possessed Man as just another part of everyday life. This idea that mental health is universal and
historical could be an important concept to portray in my final outcome, in order to reduce the
personal blame felt by sufferers of mental illness.

For many centuries there have been prejudices against

those with mental illness, as evidenced in this painting
titled The Rake in Bedlam by William Hogarth in 1733.
Here we see patients and visitors at Londons Bethlem
Hospital, evidence which shows us that people had an
awareness of mental illness from as early as the fourteenth
century. The tragedy lies in the latter who are laughing at
the former, seeing their illness as something to speculate
and humour at. It demonstrates the complete lack of
understanding and sympathy towards those with mental
illness, remnants of which are still seen even today through
casual stigmatism. This is precisely the attitude that I am
aiming to change through my work by making mental health an issue that is relatable to those who have
not experienced it, rather than the stereotyped delusional illness that is seen in Hogarths painting.
The illumination on the two sane women perhaps serves to symbolise their elitism, or to create a
clearer separation between them and the patients in the surrounding area. However, by placing these

opposing characters together Hogarth has created a juxtaposition which suggests that perhaps the line
between sanity and insanity is not so immediately obvious.

The Romantic era brought with

it an artistic fascination with
extreme states of mind and
inner suffering, but the way in
which artists chose to
approach the manner varied.
Theodore Gericault produced a
series of paintings called
Portraits of the Insane in
1822, an example of which is
titled A Woman Addicted to
Gambling. It is clear that
Gericault took a sympathetic and respectful approach to this series, as he has avoided utilising
prejudiced stereotypes when depicting his subjects. By using a three-quarter profile which is a typical
pose for formal, honorific portraits, Gericault has suggested that mental illness is an unavoidable part
of the human condition. I think this would be a valuable concept to include in my final piece as I want
to help people understand the experience of mental illness, and by showing that it is common human
experience I could help the viewer to take a more sympathetic attitude. There is a sense of unease and
distraction emanating from Gericaults portrait as the woman is not looking directly at the viewer,
which evokes the idea that she is lost in her own thoughts and disconnected from the activity she is
partaking in. Further focus is drawn to this aspect of the painting by using a plain, dark background,
which also casts a sombre atmosphere, suggestive of the sitters brooding introspection. Gericaults
attitude towards mental health is entirely different to that of Gustave Courbets, as evidenced in his
Self-Portrait (The Desperate Man) painted 1843-45. Here Courbet has depicted himself as a madman
with a facial expression that is both ecstatic and terrified. Rather than playing the role of a
sympathetic outsider he is wearing his desperate mind-set as a personal badge of artistic pride,
reminiscent of the nineteenth centurys avant garde. Courbets painting could be interpreted as an
early prototype of the modern selfie phenomenon, thus adding relevance and connection to todays
social media-saturated society. Whilst I find Courbets Self-Portrait to be initially more impactful than
Gericaults Portraits of the Insane because of its bold, brash expression, staring directly at the viewer
as to make it impossible to avoid Courbets intensely desperate state of mind, in the long term I
personally prefer Gericaults approach, as I find his subtlety to be more effective in gaining the
viewers sympathy. In contrast, Courbets pose in his painting comes across as a stereotyped,
oversimplified definition of mental illness. Nonetheless I do admire his dramatic use of light and dark
tones within his work, evocative of Caravaggios high contrast use of tonality and the Chiaroscuro
technique. This is an aspect that I could apply to my film and photographic work, by using a dramatic
play on tones to add intensity.

In 1893 Edvard Munch produced The Scream which is perhaps one of the
most established and recognised pieces of artwork pertaining to mental
illness. However, I interpret the meaning of this pastel-on-board piece in a
slightly different manner to the other works within this essay. I believe that
rather than portraying madness as a clinical illness, Munch is instead
telling us that it is a natural human condition, brought upon in response to
the chaotic world around us. Despite being produced over a century ago,
this artwork and concept hold strong relevance to todays society. In an
environment where rapidly developing technology and financial stability is
the norm, many modern citizens would find this piece relatable to their
increasingly pressured lives. A strong aspect is the use of complimentary
orange and blue colours adds to the intensity of the distorted lines and

shapes. There is a conflict of attention between the brightly hued sky and the frontal figure, as the
viewers eye first hits the sunset before being drawn to the front through use of directional lines. The
use of obscenely bright colours is an feature to consider in my film work. I initially thought of using
black and white or subdued tones, but it would be interesting to explore unnatural colours as a means
of increasing the intensity of the mood and atmosphere of the piece.

Modern portrayals of mental illness within art over

the last century have taken a far more personal
approach, often being produced by patients and
sufferers themselves rather than an external
onlooker. Jackson Pollocks psychoanalytic
drawings were produced during his Jungian
psychoanalysis sessions between 1939 and 1940.
Shrouded in mystery, their mixture of both
intricate, careful drawings and more expressive,
improvised sketches suggest an introspection from
Pollock regarding his alcohol dependence and
hypothesised bipolar disorder. The unusual shapes
and lines seen here could be transposed to the format of film through use of jarred, erratic shooting or
editing of scenes to depict a shaken mental state. In a similarly personal style, Bobby Baker produced
Diary Drawings from 1997 onwards as a way of documenting her time in a day centre. She found them
beneficial in helping her family, friends and professionals to understand her complex thoughts and
emotions, an important factor which I intend to consider in my own work. I could interview friends and
family who have experienced a mental illness and then communicate their emotions within my work to
produce a compassionate piece of work. One particular caption stood out, My key worker.. spoke to
me like I was a naughty child in relation to self-harm. I spent most of the time alone in my room. This
quote demonstrates that today there are still prejudices against those with mental health issues, even
from those who are supposed to be helping such patients. The way in which Bobby responded
negatively demonstrates the importance of society having a considerate attitude towards mental
health. Researching this collection has therefore ascertained my desire to create a piece that is
sympathetic to those who experience mental illness in order to produce compassion and understanding
from the viewer.

Through researching and analysing various artworks relating to mental health from across the last five
centuries, I have learned about how societys understanding and attitudes towards this subject have
changed over time. Many years ago people believed that mental illnesses were instead a religious
experience of demonic possession, as seen in Carpaccios The Healing of the Possessed Man at the
Rialto in 1496. The idea of demons and possession gradually changed, but the key notion of feeling
overpowered by external forces continued through the 1800s and still holds roots in modern
psychology. Through studying art we can see that society has gained a better understanding of mental
illness, as patients began to have the courage to share their own personal artwork based on their
experiences, an example of which is Bobby Bakers Diary Drawings from 1997. It is this idea of using
personal experience to create an outcome which promotes understanding and awareness from others
that I admire and hope to achieve within my own work. Whilst earlier work on this subject was
unspecific and too simplistic to truly evoke sympathy from its audience, I could still draw artistic
inspiration for the cinematography and visuals of my film and photographic work, such as use of colour
and editing style. Further to this, I like the idea of using symbols and metaphors within a piece of work
to convey an experience. Although earlier artists used demons as they had little understanding of
mental health, it still produced visually strong imagery that conveyed the way in which sufferers can
have an overpowering experience. If I could apply this idea of metaphors to a specific illness or an
individuals experience, I believe that I could create a final outcome that is both personal but relatable
to others through creativity.

Bibliography
http://medmeanderings.com/categories/art-and-music/2015/03/healing-possessed-man-carpaccio/
http://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/statistics-and-facts-aboutmental-health/how-common-are-mental-health-problems/
http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/hogarth/hogarth-hogarths-modern-moralseries/hogarth-hogarths-0
https://www.metmuseum.org/toah/works-of-art/18.64.43/
https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/becoming-modern/romanticism/romanticism-in-france/a/gricaultportraits-of-the-insane
http://artsandactivities.com/the-desperate-man-gustave-courbet/
http://www.edvardmunch.org/the-scream.jsp
http://blogs.scientificamerican.com/brainwaves/a-brief-history-of-mental-illness-in-art-3/
http://dailylifeltd.co.uk/previous-work/diary-drawings/
http://wellcomeimages.org/indexplus/result.html?wi_credit_line%3atext=%22Bobby%20Baker%22&%24%3dsort=sor
t%20sortexpr%20image_sort&%2asform=wellcomeimages&_IXACTION_=query&_IXFIRST_=1&_IXSPFX_=templates%2fb&_IXFPFX_=templates%2ft&%24%20with%20imag
e_sort=