Is there a fine line between genius and Madness?

When I look at art, this is the question I often ask myself. I don’t think this question refers to intellect, I think it has more to do with ideas. I recently went with my family to visit “Van Gogh: The Immersive Experience”, one of two immersive shows touring NYC. I have not been to the other one, but I have read that the main difference between them is, the one we visited was based around a learning experience about Van Gogh’s life and art and the other was more of just being inside his works. People who have seen either one enjoyed them both.

Van Gogh’s descent into “madness” was largely attributed to his rage after finding friend and fellow painter (and some say romantic partner), Paul Gauguin, had left him. They lived together for some time in Paris. Gauguin went to a hotel for the night, but Van Gogh could not find him. Van Gogh was consuming large amounts of absinth at the time and was not taking care of himself.  Gauguin wanted a “cooling off” period. Van Gogh cut off part of his ear, walked it over to a nearby brothel and presented to a prostitute named Gabrielle Berlatier.

Van Gough was arrested by police and sent to a mental institution. He then painted one of his most famous self portraits, “Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear”, as well as other works considered “genius” today. Was Van Gogh mentally unstable? Probably. Was he a genius? I’d say so. But did his genius as painter come from his mental state? Or, would he be famous today if he were just a regular mentally stable painter? 

Aristotle said, “There is no great genius without a touch of madness.”

I agree. Although I think we can agree that Van Gogh probably had little more than a “touch” of madness. I think this also applies to many people’s chosen careers, or even before that – as children in their early learning stages, where they start to explore the world around them. Lawyers, writers, scientists, doctors, your local nail artist, all use ideas to create new ways of thinking and doing. Kids come up with cool ideas all the time. This is creativity. Ideas that, in and of themselves that might seem a bit…crazy at first. But then, these crazy ideas lead to genuine problems that actually get solved. Then they become genius.

You don’t need to be an artist to be creative. Creativity is often just a fancy way to solve a problem. I have had, in my art, and my daily life, those “ah-ha” moments where you just know this is the best way to solve your current problem. I know you have too. They feel really great, right? Those moments of “genius” can lift you up for days. My conclusion is the fine line between genius and madness does exist. I just don’t know where the line is. My philosophy? When you see “madness” in the world, just remember to wait for that touch of “genius” that just might come afterward.