A little wonder, every day

Can we name Van Gogh’s diagnosis?

Self-Portrait, 1889, by Vincent van Gogh; contextual identity image, not a medical record. Original file page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vincent_van_Gogh_-_Self-Portrait_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg. Faithful reproduction of a public-domain work; Public Domain Mark 1.0. Reused unchanged from fact-2410; visually checked 2026-10-28.

View of the Asylum and Chapel of Saint-Rémy, 1889, by Vincent van Gogh; contextual image of the place he painted while receiving care, not evidence for a diagnosis. Original file page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vincent_van_Gogh_-_View_of_the_Asylum_and_Chapel_of_Saint-R%C3%A9my_%28F803%29.jpg. Faithful reproduction of a public-domain work; Public Domain Mark 1.0. Wikimedia thumbnail 1280 px, no crop; checked and visually inspected 2026-10-28.

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Self-Portrait, 1889, by Vincent van Gogh; contextual identity image, not a medical record. Original file page: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Vincent_van_Gogh_-_Self-Portrait_-_Google_Art_Project.jpg. Faithful reproduction of a public-domain work; Public Domain Mark 1.0. Reused unchanged from fact-2410; visually checked 2026-10-28.

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Vincent van Gogh experienced severe mental health crises and received hospital care in Arles and Saint-Rémy. Doctors at Saint-Rémy called his attacks epilepsy, but modern researchers cannot determine a diagnosis with certainty from historical letters and records. A 2020 study considered schizophrenia highly unlikely, so it should not be presented as an established diagnosis.