No one can say for sure whether he had some kind of depression or exactly what his disorder was. However, the letters written by the artist may suggest an inclination towards bipolar disorder.
The observation comes from psychiatrists at the University of Groningen (Holland), who analyzed more than a thousand letters left by the painter and also interviewed historians from the Vincent van Gogh Museum.
In these letters, written to his brother Theo and other relatives, Van Gogh described what he was going through, including his mental problems. The writing served to inform or even reassure the family.
The study presented in the International Journal of Bipolar Disorder says that the artist went through distinct phases of depression and mania, but that what speaks loudest is bipolar disorder.
Willem A. Nolen
The researchers didn't go so far as to classify what type of bipolar disorder it was, but they did mention episodes of very severe depression.
One of the psychiatrists' theories is that Van Gogh painted more when he was in a hypomanic state, which is a phase of bipolar disorder related to lapses in creativity.
However, during severe depressive episodes, Van Gogh didn't paint as much - sometimes he didn't even paint for long periods or what he did paint were "very sad" works.
To give you an idea of the painter's mental health situation, it escalated to the point where he was admitted to a psychiatric hospital for over a year.
Bipolar disorder and comorbidities
The study concludes that "Van Gogh most likely suffered from comorbid illnesses. From young adulthood, he probably developed a mood disorder (probably bipolar)".
In addition, the researchers announce that the situation probably worsened "due to a disorder related to alcohol consumption combined with malnutrition".
As a result, this combination led to "increased psychosocial tensions, to a crisis in which he cut off his ear".
The material also analyzes that, from then on, the painter "probably developed two delusions related to alcohol withdrawal, followed by worsening with severe depressive episodes from which he did not fully recover, finally leading to suicide."
The Dutch study also points to focal epilepsy (temporal lobe) as an additional comorbidity. So Van Gogh was bipolar, but he also had other disorders, as his letters show.
