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Old 28th August 2020, 01:00 AM   #37
Jim McDougall
Arms Historian
 
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Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Route 66
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"...discovery consists of seeing what everybody
has seen;
and thinking what nobody else has thought"
-Albert von Szent-Gyorgy


It does seem that like love vs hate, the line between genius and madness can be extremely thin and hard to determine. As we have recognized, with notable figures in the arts and other areas, there have been environmental exposures such as lead and mercury poisoning which might account for their actions and often demise.

However, we wonder why they would be so much more effected than the average person of the time, if indeed they were. Surely not every artist was adversely effected as they all used lead based paint. However, possibly certain artists had peculiar quirks or habits, such as wetting their brush in their mouth etc. Possibly they were exposed to other sources of the same noxious elements, adding to a 'perfect storm' in the exposure.

I think rather than a universal or collective assertion that situations like lead poisoning be the cause of behavioral dysfunction as suggested with Caravaggio ( aggressive behavior is a symptom).....we must consider it is likely to be a complicating factor. It seems that in studies of bio-history of notable historical figures, the presence of issues such as temporal lobe epilepsy and other psychological factors seemed in ways to elevate the potential for 'greatness', if not notoriety.

It seems to me the term 'mad' is much overused and often inappropriately to note persons who are quirky or obsessed in certain areas, or sometimes many, in eclectic interests. People of intellect are often, possibly even almost typically, somewhat socially inept.

It has been my impression that duelists and brawlers were often regarded in their hubris as romantic and exciting figures, much as the famed gunfighters (then shootists) of the wild west, and much celebrated.

Caravaggio probably was not entirely averse to this reputation, and as art is as noted, often deeply allegorical, these nuances such as discussed are probably more in that regard than result of derangement caused by lead poisoning in specific.

The forensic discovery of lead in his remains led to the suggestion of lead poisoning, however there were numerous other mitigating factors present or suggested, certain multiple wounds which may have developed complications over time not withstanding.
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