The Relationship between Schizophrenia and Art

Abstract

The first thing we can ask ourselves, quite simply, is whether, in these exceptional individuals, schizophrenia constitutes the cause, alone or accompanied by others, of their artistic creations. In the dark and enigmatic depths of physiological-psychological correlations, will the schizophrenic process be one more factor, which does not imply that the work also has a schizophrenic character. In the same way that Bismarck used to ingest large quantities of alcohol while making his parliamentary speeches, because that way the words flowed more easily without, however, showing symptoms of drunkenness, schizophrenia can also act as an excitant – although its action is more lasting and leaves a much more powerful mark on existence – of artistic creation, but without constituting a specific condition of the work. Or one can ask secondly, if schizophrenia is not a specific condition of the changes in style of an artist, when he breaks out at the same time as they are produced? Is it possible that modifications of this nature, equally operated on in other individuals, but without the need for the condition, are exclusively due to schizophrenia? Should we exclude that they may also be a consequence of paralysis, brain injury, a state of alcoholism, or any other similar disturbance?