The artist and the depressive state

Artists facing depression

For many artists, art is a way of healing disorders and anxieties. Painting becomes therapeutic as well as other forms of art. A painter often does therapy painting without being fully aware of it. Artist, depression, are words that we frequently associate. A painter is not necessarily a depressed artist. However, he can become so if his living conditions become precarious or if the obsession with art becomes too cumbersome in his mind.

The Covid epidemic has highlighted and increased the precariousness of artists. Most of them suffer from the uncertainty of tomorrow and the fluctuations in their income. They are, by the nature of their profession, socially vulnerable. Some, to make ends meet, have another job alongside their artistic practice. Others diversify their practice by teaching or specializing in therapy, for example, with therapy painting.

It seems, according to recent studies, that 80% of musical artists are anxious about their professional future. The most worrying thing is that of these 80%, 20% are diagnosed with depression, which is 2.5 times more than the national average. What is valid in the musical sector is also valid in other artistic fields.

(Report established by the four founders of Cura and published on October 17, 2019)

Are artistic creation and mental health correlated?

The driving force behind artists is passion and exaltation. It seems quite logical that they are more exposed to intense emotional variations. Furthermore, they very often go from light to the shadow of solitude, from enthusiasm to indifference. You have to have an iron mind to tolerate these psychological deviations. However, emotional fragility is one of the components of creation. The cocktail is explosive. Underlying emotional fragility contributes to the appearance of mental disorders such as mood disorders, depression or bipolar disorder. If we add addictions to psychotropic substances, the danger of plunging into illness is significant.

Are artists more mentally fragile than the rest of the population?

It should be noted that most artists are not fundamentally more fragile than the rest of the population. They are capable of managing their mental health like everyone else. The only real difference between them lies in the precariousness that they often experience on a daily basis. Not being able to support your family or simply having to face your inability to generate regular income in front of friends and relatives is frequently experienced as a failure. Hard to support ; precariousness deals a serious blow to self-image. Its recurrence erodes enthusiasm and risks causing mental pathologies. The vicious circle of a loss of confidence causing a devaluation of one's abilities can begin. It is the decline which sometimes leads to depression or causes the onset of previously hidden mental pathologies which, in the worst cases, potentially leads to suicide.

The myth of the bohemian artist dies hard.

Practicing art as a profession is not naturally recognized. The artist, in the collective unconscious, is considered an acrobat. He is apart. In addition, he must assume responsibility for his choices, which for many are synonymous with lightness. Thus, the precarious condition of artists is almost unanimously accepted in our technocratic societies.

Furthermore, as we have notably seen during the “lockdowns” linked to the Covid epidemic, art is not a priority.

Furthermore, we live in a society of spectacle assumed (see the essay by Guy Debord [ La société du spectacle 1967] . We do not recognize the right of artists to make a decent living from their art. It is a paradox which places them in materially and psychologically difficult situations.

Is there a link between creativity and mental health?

There is indeed a prevalence of mental illness among artistic professions, according to Simon Kyaga, psychiatrist and researcher at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm. An article in the Journal of Psychiatric Research , defines creative professions as more susceptible to mental illnesses: schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, anorexia nervosa and, to some extent, autism.

[Journal of Psychiatric Research 10/10/2016/Mental illness, suicide and creativity: 40-Year prospective total population study]

Concerning the impact of psychological disorders on creativity, it is very real. An article published in the journal Management Science under the title “Death, mourning and creativity” demonstrates a loss in value between the works produced by artists during the period of mourning of a loved one compared to the rest of their production. The difference in price estimates is noted at 35%. The works were also less likely to be included in museum collections.

Paintings produced in the year following the death of a loved one are depreciated. This calls into question the idea that unhappiness and sadness are an ally of creation.

Pablo Picasso 's blue period . In 1901 he was in Spain when he learned of the death of his friend Casagemas . His painting then changed radically. His paintings were shunned by dealers and it was only during an exhibition in April 1902, at the gallery owner ** Berthe Weill ** that they became visible.

As we can see, art and depression have a common history. Despite all the research and analysis on the subject, it is clear that this strange relationship, like many questions in art, remains a mystery.

“If you can’t talk about it, why paint it?” I leave you to meditate on this enigma of Francis Bacon .