Illnesses of the Soul: Manifestations of Mental Illness in Art and Literature

Abstract

The study aims to analyse the connection that resides between mental illness- schizophrenia, paranoia, depression, anxiety to name a few conditions, in artists and writers from different epochs. Their work was affected by the torment in their soul. However, though the impact has had a toll on the patient, it has produced a work long remembered by generations of artists to come. We will look into the art and influence of writers and artists such as the German artist Unica Zürn, a patient-writer remembered for her novel Dark Spring and Jasmine Man, for her anagrams- original poetic constructions, as well as her drawings of the human body, the anatomy of the soul, the body portrayed in a unique manner, resembling the surreal sketches of Victor Brauner, as well as other similarities with the life and work of the American artist Georgia O’Keeffe. From Georg Heym to Edward Munch, with each and every glimpse through the kaleidoscope of art and literature, of writers suffering from mental illness we try to get closer to the influence of mental illness, illness in general that affects the artist’s view on rendering life.