J. J. Ruiz Ezquerro
Neurosciences and History 2025;13(3):166-180
Article type: Original
AUTHOR
J. J. Ruiz Ezquerro
Neurologist and historian. Former head of the neurology and internal medicine departments. Complejo Asistencial de Zamora, Zamora, Spain.
ABSTRACT
Objective. This study analyses the relationship between migraine and art, from the supposed role of migraine (and especially migraine with aura) as a muse or inspiration to its role as the object or subject of artistic representation. As a secondary objective, it analyses and critiques the retrospective diagnosis of migraine in numerous artists (especially painters) based on the study of their works.
Material and methods. In addition to reviewing the literature on the subject, we analyse from a neurological perspective the visual works of numerous artists, from the Middle Ages to today, comparing them against the work of artists confirmed to have migraine; wherever possible, biographies, autobiographies, and self-referential texts were also studied to identify data supporting the diagnosis.
Results. The study analyses the works of Hildegard von Bingen, William Blake, William Turner, Gustave Doré, Claude Monet, Vincent van Gogh, Seurat, Di Chirico, Dalí, Picasso, and of contemporary artists with known diagnoses of migraine, such as Georgia O’Keeffe, Sarah Raphael, and members of the Migraine Art Project.
Conclusions. The majority of artists considered and diagnosed with migraine do not meet criteria for this diagnosis, although through analysis from today’s perspective, with its potential biases, we may recognise or interpret semiological traits of migraine aura in their works. In artists with confirmed migraine, aura generally constitutes an object or subject of artistic representation, rather than a source of inspiration.
KEYWORDS
Migraine art, migraine inspiration
Neurosciences and History 2025;13(3):166-180