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One of the most impressive things about many classic artists is not their skill with a paintbrush, but the fact that many of them had some sort of visual problem. Last year we talked about how Claude Monet had such a prestigious career despite having cataracts. Today, we would like to talk about Rembrandt and the depth perception issues he may have had.
Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn was a 17th-century Dutch painter and is considered one of the finest artists in history. He painted portraits of himself and others, landscapes, scenes from the Bible, and many other images. He is said to have created at least 300 paintings, though that count at times has been as high as 600. Among his more famous paintings are Night Watch, The Abduction of Europa, and The Storm on the Sea of Galilee.
In 2004 a pair of Harvard neurologists noticed that Rembrandt’s eyes were misaligned in his self-portraits. One looked directly forward, while the other would look to the side. They studied dozens of his self-portraits and determined it was very likely he had strabismus.
Most often beginning in infancy or childhood, strabismus is a condition where a person’s eyes don’t point in the same direction. In these cases, people have difficulty combining different images to view things in three dimensions. This is called stereoblindness.
Those who have studied Rembrandt’s work in light of the revelation about his strabismus believe that images appearing flat to him was actually an advantage. Most artists look at the three-dimensional world and then have to translate it into a two-dimensional picture. But in Rembrandt’s case, he likely already saw everything two-dimensionally. That made transferring images to a painting that much easier.
Strabismus is very common. In fact, while it can be very mild – almost unnoticeable – about 10 percent of the population is still believed to have the condition. Many more people have pronounced strabismus within the art community than those who do not. That said, many more artists have normal stereovision than those with strabismus, and the majority of people with strabismus are not artists. Being an artist of Rembrandt’s caliber still means many years of hard work and a gift for painting.
If you or your child has strabismus and you want to discuss treatment options with a CEENTA eye doctor, don’t hesitate to schedule an appointment. They will help you see the three-dimensional world in a way that Rembrandt couldn’t.
This blog is for informational purposes only. For specific medical questions, please consult your doctor.
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