The Red Curtain
oder
Hommage to Vincent
Anonymus, approx. 1965


German Epilepsy Museum Kork

The Red Curtain

German Epilepsy Museum Kork

www.epilepsiemuseum.de
 

 

 

One of the foundations to combat epilepsy, the Stiftung Michael in Hamburg, uses this picture as its emblem because it so clearly depicts all the main aspects of epilepsy - medical, psychological and social.

The picture was painted around 1965 by a patient in a painting therapy group. The painter shows the whole range of problems which epilepsy causes, and sublimates them in his homage to Vincent van Gogh, who also suffered from the disease.

The dominating red curtain, a symbol for both aggression (the colour) and hiding (it is half closed), shows that the painter was well aware of his situation. He hides his suffering behind a curtain but gives the curtain the aggressive colour red, which has always been a symbol of power and evil.

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