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I am posting this because the thought occurred to me, and I have no where else to share it before I completely forget it. There was a myth that was told to me when I was a student at CCAD, and I've heard it from other sources since, that Vincent Van Gogh went insane from heavy metal poisoning from his paints. The rumor was that he put a point on all of his brushes with his mouth while he was painting. The left over paint in the brushes supposedly infected him with cadmium, mercury, and a host of other toxins over the very short span that he actually pursued art, built up in his system, and eventually caused him to lose it and take his own life.
It sounded plausible enough, when I was in undergrad. At that time, I had never actually seen one of his paintings in person. Since then I have seen several, and have become aware of the fact that this myth is bull. Van Gogh painted thickly, dragging heavy buttery oil paint across the surface of his canvasses with various sizes of square shaped brushes. He would have had absolutely no need to put a point on his brushes; with his mouth, or anything else.
You could argue that maybe it was watercolor that did the damage, but his watercolors are relatively few and far between. He did do a great number of ink drawings, but there's really no reason to ever put a pen nib in one's mouth. Unless you're already insane.
Also, if you look into it more you'll discover that while Van Gogh only sold one painting, he was supported almost wholly by his brother, and was able to barter his drawings for most anything else that he might have needed.
So what made Van Gogh kill himself? He was freakin' nuts.
It's still not a good idea to put a point on your brushes with your mouth though!!!
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