Portraits of the Insane

Theodore Gericault and the Subject of Psychotherapy

Nonfiction, Health & Well Being, Psychology, Mental Health
Cover of the book Portraits of the Insane by Robert Snell, Taylor and Francis
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Robert Snell ISBN: 9780429917400
Publisher: Taylor and Francis Publication: March 29, 2018
Imprint: Routledge Language: English
Author: Robert Snell
ISBN: 9780429917400
Publisher: Taylor and Francis
Publication: March 29, 2018
Imprint: Routledge
Language: English

In the early 1820s, in the gloomy aftermath of the 1789 Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, the French Romantic painter Theodore Gericault (1791-1824) made five portraits of patients in an asylum or clinic. No depictions of madness before or since can compare with them for humanity, straightforwardness and immediacy.  The portraits challenge us to find responses in ourselves to the face and the embodied mysteries of the other person, and to our own internal (unsconscious, disavowed) otherness: in this sense, Gericault was a "painter-analyst". The challenge could not be more urgent, in our world of suspicion of the stranger, and of the medicalisation of madness. The book sketches the history of this last process, from the Enlightenment through to the Revolution and its public health policies, to the birth of the asylum in its interface with the penal system. But there was also a new medico-philosophical conviction that the mad were never wholly mad, and their suffering and disturbance might best be addressed through relationship and speech.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

In the early 1820s, in the gloomy aftermath of the 1789 Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, the French Romantic painter Theodore Gericault (1791-1824) made five portraits of patients in an asylum or clinic. No depictions of madness before or since can compare with them for humanity, straightforwardness and immediacy.  The portraits challenge us to find responses in ourselves to the face and the embodied mysteries of the other person, and to our own internal (unsconscious, disavowed) otherness: in this sense, Gericault was a "painter-analyst". The challenge could not be more urgent, in our world of suspicion of the stranger, and of the medicalisation of madness. The book sketches the history of this last process, from the Enlightenment through to the Revolution and its public health policies, to the birth of the asylum in its interface with the penal system. But there was also a new medico-philosophical conviction that the mad were never wholly mad, and their suffering and disturbance might best be addressed through relationship and speech.

More books from Taylor and Francis

Cover of the book The Natural Family by Robert Snell
Cover of the book The Resurgence of the State by Robert Snell
Cover of the book The Critical Role of Parenting in Human Development by Robert Snell
Cover of the book African Diaspora by Robert Snell
Cover of the book A Dictionary of the Avant-Gardes by Robert Snell
Cover of the book Doing Business in Minority Markets by Robert Snell
Cover of the book Public and Private by Robert Snell
Cover of the book Crisis and Migration by Robert Snell
Cover of the book Learning About Drinking by Robert Snell
Cover of the book Race, Politics, and Community Development Funding by Robert Snell
Cover of the book Teaming Up: Components of Safety Under High Risk by Robert Snell
Cover of the book Fair Weather by Robert Snell
Cover of the book Education Law by Robert Snell
Cover of the book The Farmer in England, 1650-1980 by Robert Snell
Cover of the book The Cinematic Eighteenth Century by Robert Snell
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy