'The Starry Night' by Van Gogh is a view from the window of what building?

Twigster, hm, I'll say this. In the context of this question you are correct. In Van Gogh's time, and until the last 70 or 80 years, really, very little treatment would have ocurred at an asylum. For much of their history, asylums were essentially places where we sent the mentally ill when we didn't know what else to do. It had very little to do with how mentally stable they were, but more to do with how society feared and ostracized something they didn't understand. For example, I am hardly unstable (at least in a dangerous way), but I am bipolar, so likely instead of watching football and reading my psychology textbook, I'd likely be locked up in Van Gogh's time. So, Van Gogh likely didn't stay in a hospital in the sense of what we think of today, but most modern asylums (and there still are some that go by that name still) operate the same as psych. wards except they are geared toward long term treatment. The two terms have become essentially interchangeable, so much so that major dictionaries such as Merriam-Webster, Oxford, and Cambridge define an asylum that way.

Tannar33, Isn't is sad the stigma that is still put on mental illness today? My Grandmother was diagnosed as Paranoid/ Scitzoprenic in the 50's. Her family was so ashamed of her. They constantly put her in the local " Asylum" rather than disrupt their own lives. The treatment was barbaric then , mostly primitive ECT's. I am bipolar also and the attitude hasn't changed much. At least treatment has come a long way. People DO treat you different if you tell them about your diagnosis. If you tell them you are Diabetic no big deal. What they don't understand is our bodies don't produce the right chemicals either just like any other physical condition.

I'm a psych attendant at the state hospital. some of my patients are extremely talented artists I have some of their work displayed in my home that they made for me its incredibly beautiful.

Tannar33, Thanks for the info. l agree...in those days, asylums were arguably just places to warehouse folks who may or may not have been mentally ill. We can only hope that the places have come a long way towards treating patients with the best-known methods, and with compassion and dignity.

Starry Starry Night by Don McLean is one of my favorites too! Always brings tears to my eyes.

I've found that geniuses of art or math, etc seem to be very fragile in their personalities. I watch intervention on A & E and most of those with addictions are very artistic

All I can say is...wow

many painters were victims of toxic oil paint chemicals.

Tannar33, I agree. Van Gogh also had epilepsy, which was seen as mental illness. Even today there are people that think it's not a "real" condition or a sign of mental illness.

Tannar33, Thank you for sharing such personal info. And you are absolutely correct. It was a sad way to treat people who needed more attention, time and love.

Love Van Gogh's art

I used to work in a Catholic hospital with a mental ward, and it was very pleasant. It had a bed, couch, desk and a table. More like a private hotel room.

Van gogh sold only one painting all his life. Such a shame he wasn't appreciated until after he died. He was only 37. qt⁰

Genius is often coupled with some disorder such as bipolar, or, in Jimi Hendrix's song, manic depression. Interesting fact: Van Gogh, Hendrix and Kurt Cobain were all three bipolar and left handed. They died too young by their own hand. Some people think Van Gogh was at the wheat field where he painted and drank with two boys. They had a handgun which was malfunctioning and the angle of the bullet was oblique, not straight in as would be more likely in a suicide. But Vincent felt bad because his paintings weren't selling and he didn't want to continue to burden his brother so he returned to the house and embraced death.

Player Ejag, I agree.

he also had syphilis which makes you crazy

Tannar33, Even though he was a amazing artist,, there had to be something not right in some way with him because he tried to cut his ear off, thats not todays bipolar but more like you said, the family didnt know what to do with them, though I would try to understand where it went different fir his life somewhere in his life, to see that his signs of having started non no normal thoughts or any kind of bad actions had to have been showing, I dont think he wouldve been all normal to thoughts actions and woke up one day and say I think Ill cut my ear off and then do it! RIP Van Gogh

The world is moving forward albeit slowly, regarding mental illness. Ten years ago when my son was first diagnosed with high functioning autism ( then called Asperger’s) there wasn’t much knowledge amongst the general public about it, now there seems to be 2-3 children in every school class with an ASD diagnosis. The stigma however is still very apparent. I think with horror that my high functioning, intelligent 16 year old could well have been placed in an asylum if he were born 100 years earlier

An asylum is a kind of hospital is it not?

Tannar33, you could be slammed up in an asylum for getting pregnant out of wedlock in those days

I had no idea, this is not an area that I have much knowledge about... makes the painting even more awesome, to me.

Tannar33, His art was his therapy. He was ahead of his time!

GrandmaTanya, too true. So many geniuses and talented people are. Just to mention a couple of singers like Elton John, Michael Jackson.

Harold, he was in an asylum for just over a year, in which he did 150 paintings, design depending on his mood at the time.

Player Ejag, does it ever say why he cut off his ear??

This is my favorite Band Gogh painting and my favorite Don McLean song.

EvilEve9, Color me curious, was/is there a test from a doctor that one participates in that verifies the imbalance? I'm assuming, please forgive my ignorance, that the imbalance is in the brain? Is it a spinal tap situation, which tbh, I don't even know if that's applicable, not even sure what they're for. LOL. Thanks, though.

Listened to one or maybe even two podcasts on Van Gough and I don't remember hearing about an asylum once. Wth 🤦🏻‍♂️

There are many homeless people living in LA in front of resident homes, schools, etc. Some are mentally ill. if they are mentally ill should they be put in mental hospitals?

Ziela1313, But he did have ❤️ love. his brother absolutely loved him,

grandmax49456, I love his paintings but this one does not look like stars to me,,

Craig W Fels, me too.

A little detour from mental illnesses & treatment. I believe that art is beautiful, priceless & freedom of expression. But the modern world elites has made it overrated, it shoud be more preservation rather than pride in ownership of an art piece. Side note Banksy probably shredded his painting at the auction because he wasn't pleased at the valuation it got at the auction. 😂

I agree because I too am bipolar and the world sees us as different and sometimes dangerous

Dianna Bella74, Sanity?.....I'm in there.

Nat, Wow....do you think so?

Player #16534313, Yes, but does it drive you beyond the border of a "little" crazy into vast expanse of "Big" crazy? If so...then I would not be surprised if yourself sported a single ear these days.

I see that painting and all I see is a TARDIS exploding.

Player #118197, unfortunately, I don't think this has happened, at least in the U.S. Only now in so many places, we won't even care about folks enough to pay to warehouse them, so they are left homeless and self medicate with street drugs. :( - sorry to be downer debbie here, but it is a huge problem here.

Myra Hess. It's intresting that he did his best paintings when he was in an asylum. And was mentally ill.