Stendhal Syndrome and the Profundity of Art
In her 1989 essay “Beauty is the Mystery of Life,” American abstract painter Agnes Martin reflects on the convergence of beauty and art by saying, “When I think of art I think of beauty. Beauty is the mystery of life. It is not in the eye it is in the mind. In our minds there is awareness of perfection.” Often considered one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Martin created luminous minimalist paintings that subtly evoked emotional states. Her work illustrates the power of visual art to inspire viewers toward deep reflection and consideration of life’s transcendent mysteries. This contemplative process was also recognized by Pablo Picasso, who stated that “art washes away from the soul the dust of everyday life.”
Simultaneously, works of art can highlight darker realities. English writer Somerset Maugham declared that “beauty is something wonderful and strange that the artist fashions out of the chaos of the world in the torment of his soul.” In communicating a unique perspective, whether hopeful or dismayed, artists like Maugham create works that speak to humanity’s capacity for both disorder and redemption. Indeed, as Austrian poet Rainer Maria Rilke described, “Beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror, which we are still just able to endure, and we are so awed because it serenely disdains to annihilate us.”
History of Stendhal’s Syndrome
Given its evocative qualities, it is unsurprising that art elicits strong emotions. An extreme example of this is the rare psychosomatic phenomenon called Stendhal Syndrome. Officially named in 1989, Stendhal syndrome is characterized by anxiety, dizzy spells, heart palpitations, disorientation, tachycardia, hallucinations, delusions, panic, and paranoia after witnessing works of art. Sufferers can feel faint and have difficulty breathing, particularly following exposure to multiple works. The syndrome is named after a 19th century French author who experienced psychosomatic symptoms and “a kind of ecstasy…where the heavenly sensations of the fine arts meet passionate feeling” while gazing at Volterrano’s fresco of the Sibyls at the Basilica of Santa Croce in Florence, Italy.
Dr. Graziella Magherini, chief of psychiatry at the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital in Florence, coined the term Stendhal Syndrome in 1989 after observing 106 patients who had been transported from Florentine art galleries and museums to the hospital emergency room. Their symptoms lasted for about 2 to 8 days where 66% of patients experienced neuropsychiatric issues, 29% exhibited severe mood disorders, and 5% showed signs of anxiety disorders including panic attacks and stomach pain. A small subset of patients reported intense agitation and the impulse to destroy the artworks. Margherini surmised that many sufferers had latent mental health issues that were exacerbated by strong emotion. Theorizing that their malady was also connected to the high concentration of art in Florence, Magherini recommended patients leave Italy and return to their normal lives.
In the following years, similar symptoms were documented in subjects visiting places of historical and artistic import such as Venice, Rome, Jerusalem, and India. These areas all happen to be strongly associated with religion, mysticism, and mythology.
For example, in 2000, Israeli psychiatrists began documenting an acute psychotic state dubbed Jerusalem Syndrome. They calculated that roughly 100 patients per year who were visitors to the Holy Land exhibited signs of psychological decompensation similar to Stendhal Syndrome. Patients fell into three categories, with some showing delusions of being a religious Biblical figure, others with personality disorders, and a third subset of people experiencing short-term psychotic episodes. Individuals in the third category were found wrapping themselves in hotel bedsheets attempting to deliver sermons at historically religious sites, or engaging in obsessive ritual bathing. Their recovery was noted to be immediate upon leaving Jerusalem.
Notable Cases
In 2005, Brazilian neurosurgeon Edson Amancio proposed that Russian novelist Dostoevsky, who suffered from epilepsy, had experienced a case of Stendhal Syndrome during the 1800s while viewing the painting The Body of the Dead Christ in the Tomb by Hans Holbeins. A diary entry by Dostoevsky’s wife Anna Snitkina revealed signs that her husband’s ecstatic contemplation of the artwork almost triggered an epileptic seizure.
Both early 20th century psychoanalysts Carl Jung and Sigmund Freud wrote about noteworthy cases of being mentally or physically overwhelmed while viewing artwork. Jung described the difficult decision to cancel his European travel plans following an intense experience at Pompeii in Italy where he fell under the spell of the architecture, witnessing visions overlaying the walls. As he described, “Pompeii alone was more than enough; the impressions very nearly exceeded my powers of receptivity”.
In a letter to a close friend, Freud recorded a visit to the Acropolis in Athens in 1904 where his long-term enthusiasm and fascination with Greek civilization devolved into feelings of depersonalization and alienation. He reported being overtaken by strange feelings and a sense that “this is too good to be true”.
Most recently in 2018, two instances of public disturbance at the Uffizi Gallery in Florence were theorized to be caused by Stendhal Syndrome. One man suffered a heart attack while looking at Sandro Botticelli’s The Birth of Venus painting, and another woman fainted in front of Caravaggio’s Head of Medusa.
Physical Causes
Psychiatrists have proposed a variety of reasons for these intense reactions. One is the occurrence of cultural overload when traveling to a location highly different from one’s place of origin that embodies the formidable greatness of the past. Exhaustion due to the stress of travel is another precursor, as Magherini observed that patients whose trips were arranged by travel agencies that maximized destinations within short periods of time had worse symptoms. Additional factors may be having an impressionable personality and coming from a religious background.
Interestingly, a literature review in 2021 found that sufferers are most often single individuals between 26 and 40 years of age who are experiencing stress from travel, including jet lag. In addition to being art lovers, these factors increase the risk of becoming overcome by the thrill of witnessing breathtaking art. For these reasons researchers and mental health professionals advise tourists to pace themselves while exploring museums and to get adequate rest between viewings. Vulnerable individuals are also encouraged to avoid triggering art experiences if they feel unable to maintain any emotional equilibrium.
The Influence of Neuroaesthetics
Modern research into the science of aesthetic experiences can also provide clues to the origins of Stendhal Syndrome. Neuroaesthetics is an interdisciplinary field that explores the influences of psychology, neuroscience, and art on experiences of beauty. Studies using fMRI scans have found that pleasure centers in the brain are activated by viewing works of visual art subjectively considered to be beautiful. For example, a 2004 experiment found that participants’ blood flow increased by as much as 10% in brain regions associated with pleasure.
Further, a 2011 study revealed increased activation of the ventral striatum, a subcortical brain region involved in subjective evaluation of stimuli and the expectation of reward. The ventral striatum is involved in decision-making and risk-taking behaviors, including drug addiction and gambling. Looking at paintings also led to activation of the hypothalamus and orbitofrontal cortex, regions linked to nervous system regulation and impulse control. In instances of Stendhal Syndrome, it might be theorized that such physiological activity has become heightened to uncomfortable and disorienting levels.
Philosophies of Art
Philosophers including Plato and Aristotle deeply considered art’s ability to elicit powerful feelings. Plato went so far as to advocate for censorship of all forms of art due to the risk of awakening wild passions in the public. Conversely, Aristotle encouraged the dissemination of art as an opportunity to experience catharsis and an outlet for otherwise dangerous emotion.
Later on, Austrian psychoanalyst Ernst Kris theorized that complex emotional states that are difficult to articulate are highlighted by artistic creations, causing outbursts of suppressed feelings in viewers. He also proposed that the intensity of emotions is enhanced by close proximity, as was the case of sojourners touring European historical monuments and works of art. Indeed, the ability for art to reveal inner mysteries was summarized by Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw when he noted, “You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul.”
Transcendent Experience
An important factor informing Stendhal Syndrome is a history of religiosity and spiritual devotion, as religious travelers are known to demonstrate the most florid expression of symptoms. By considering art as a portal to the numinous, pilgrims have been overcome with awe and even fear. Understandably, this can be a disorienting and potentially disturbing experience.
European and Renaissance art as a whole includes numerous icons originating in the Orthodox Christian faith. Through contemplation of the overt or subtle references to the divine, interaction with these works becomes as spiritual as religious ritual. These experiences can have a profound, rapturous quality that might resemble Stendhal Syndrome. As monk and theologian Thomas Merton declared, “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.”
The connection between visual beauty and sanctity can also be tied to Christian mysticism. Mystical revelation involves an experience of ecstatic union of one’s soul with God, often with a suspension of one’s mental and physical faculties. Such religious ecstasy can include demonstrative expressions of spontaneous inner visions of God or contact with the sublime.
Within the contemporary art world there has also been movement toward embracing spirituality and faith systems. Disillusioned by global conflicts and consumerism, factions of artists are pursuing spiritual philosophies and symbology as inspiration for their creations. Sources of inspiration span world religions, Buddhist philosophy, and mythological accounts. This pursuit of something larger than oneself is expressed in the words of Leonardo Da Vinci, who stated that “the painter has the Universe in his mind and hands.” This trend, combined with the continued pursuit of beauty by artists and viewers alike, suggests that Stendhal Syndrome and its unique cluster of symptoms may remain a highly relevant phenomenon.
Article Sources
Amancio, E. (2005). Dostoevsky and Stendhal´s syndrome. Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 63(4). https://doi.org/10.1590/S0004-282X2005000600034
American Congress of Rehabilitation Medicine (Accessed on 2023, March 5). How the brain is affected by art. https://acrm.org/rehabilitation-medicine/how-the-brain-is-affected-by-art
Archie, L., & Archie, J. (2006). Readings in the history of aesthetics. Lander University. https://philosophy.lander.edu/intro/artbook/c321.htm#FTN.AEN366
Bamforth, I. (2010). Stendhal’s syndrome. British Journal of General Practice, 60(581), 945–946. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2991758/
Brittanica. (2023). Stages of Christian mysticism. https://www.britannica.com/topic/Christianity/Stages-of-Christian-mysticism
Datta, S. (2017). Stendhal syndrome: A psychological response among tourists. Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, 3(2), 66-73. https://doi.org/10.17140/PCSOJ-3-125
Eastman, Q. (2011, January 6). Viewing art activates brain’s reward circuits. Emory University. http://shared.web.emory.edu/emory/news/releases/2011/01/viewing-art-activates-brains-reward-circuits.html#.ZAZxiezMKvC
Freud, S. (1964). The complete psychological works of Sigmund Freud. Hogarth Press. http://users.clas.ufl.edu/burt/I'mnotcrazy!/ADisturbanceofMemory.pdf
Gomez-Upegui, S. (2021, August 2). Why contemporary artists are embracing spirituality in their work. Artsy. https://www.artsy.net/article/artsy-editorial-contemporary-artists-embracing-spirituality-work
Jung, C. G. (1989). Memories, dreams reflections. Vintage Books.
Ketelsen, C. (2003). Aristotle, art, and Greek tragedy. Washington State University. https://public.wsu.edu/~kimander/aristotleart.htm#:~:text=While%20Plato%20condemns%20art%20because
Kris, E. (1952). Psychoanalytic expressions in art. International Universities Press.
Marinho, G., Peta, J., Pereira, J., & Marguilho. (2021). Stendhal syndrome: Can art make you ill? European Psychiatry, 64(1), 317. https://doi.org/10.1192/j.eurpsy.2021.852
Neuendorf, H. (2018, December 19). A tourist suffered a heart attack after gazing at Botticelli’s Venus. Was it a case of ‘Stendhal Syndrome’? Artnet. https://news.artnet.com/art-world/heart-attack-botticelli-uffizi-1425448
Nicholson, T., Pariante, C., & McLoughlin, D. (2009). Stendhal syndrome: A case of cultural overload. BMJ Case Reports. https://doi.org/10.1136%2Fbcr.06.2008.0317
Palacios-Sanchez, L., Botero-Meneses, J., Pachon, R., Hernandez, L., Triana-Melo, J., & Ramirez-Rodriguez, S. (2018). Stendhal syndrome: A clinical and historical overview. Arquivos de Neuro-Psiquiatria, 76)(2). https://doi.org/10.1590/0004-282X20170189
Robinson, M. D. (2021, August 26). Florence stendhal syndrome: The art-induced fainting sickness. Art & Object. https://www.artandobject.com/news/florence-stendhal-syndrome-art-induced-fainting-sickness
