Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2020/11/04/van-gogh-likely-suffered-delirium-from-alcohol-withdrawal.html
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This is all of us in three weeks.
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one of my favorite self-portraits he did, and one i don’t see used often in stories about him. thanks!
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Will stash some alcohol and/or nutrition before eventually arrives, well noted, thanks. [Sounds of the concrete forms of eventuality going up.]
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I’m a fan of the heavy metal poisoning theory, at least as a severe aggravating factor for the underlying conditions.
Glass artists are also quite aware that the ingredients of our colours are not particularly healthy to ingest. You can get Uranium glass colour bar… still… 
I mean, until you’ve gone mad from heavy metal poisoning and cut your ear off, can you really call yourself an “artist”? 
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When you drink 160 proof absinthe by the bottle, yeah, the alcohol will mess you up
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And let’s not forget about all the lead, cadmium, cobalt, and turpentine he ate. Not deliberately mind you. Moreso haphazardly and without care or concern.
Gaugin specifically talked about that numerous times. Particularly the turpentine.
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Not a theory. Gaugin wrote about his concerns in that regard numerous times. Paint EVERYWHERE. Cooking utensils etc. Particularly the turpentine.
Lead, cadmium, cobalt … who knows what else. It’s legit, not a theory.
I’ve got glass blower buddies, and they gave me a couple paperweights with uranium glass in the middle. So cool. And so low radiation it’s not worth thinking about LOL.
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Per @Simon_Clift and @Vaughn_Stegeman, the heavy metals theory may also overlap with his alcoholism. During that era Absinthe had become massively popular due to the dearth of wine following the Phylloxera blight. Absinthes were graded based on production methods and many of the “Absinthe Inferieur” products were reportedly colored with Verdigris.
The fact is, the dude was poor, alcoholic and had high exposure to lots of toxins. All of the above.
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