Mind and Mood in Modern Art I: Miro and "Melancolie"

Abstract

The link between depression and artistic creativity has been the focus of considerable biographical and systematic empirical diagnostic research during the past several decades. Concurrently, many scholars have come to recognize the spiritual strivings and yearnings for transcendence inherent in the works of many of this century's greatest artist. In this article, we examine how depression played a crucial role in the development of the art of the 20th-century Catalan artist Joan Miro's spiritual beliefs to both his depressions and his art work.