Q.

Read the following passage carefully:

A striking feature of Vincent van Gogh's famous painting “The Starry Night” is the yellow corona surrounding each star. The use of yellow characterizes many of the paintings of this Dutch post-impressionist, and much speculation surrounds Vincent van Gogh's fascination with this vibrant pigment. Did he simply like the colour, or was his preference influenced by some medical condition?

Because numerous disorders have been diagnosed posthumously in this artist, various theories have been proposed to explain how Vincent van Gogh's physical state may have influenced his work. Two theories centre on why he used so much yellow.

First, he was fond of absinthe, a popular liqueur containing thujone. Excessive consumption of this liqueur may cause the consumer to see all objects with a yellow hue. Investigations conducted in 1991, however, showed that a person must drink 182 litres of absinthe to produce this visual effect, so we can discount this theory.

A second and more likely explanation involves overmedication with digitalis. People receiving large and repeated doses of this drug often see the world with a yellow-green tint. They complain of seeing yellow spots surrounded by coronas, much like those in “The Starry Night.” The artist’s physician, Paul-Ferdinand Gachet, may have treated Vincent van Gogh's epilepsy with digitalis, a common practice at that time. In one of Vincent van Gogh's three portraits of Gachet, the physician holds a stem of Digitalis purpurea, the purple foxglove from which the drug is extracted.

Plagued by psychiatric illness throughout his life, Vincent van Gogh committed suicide in 1890. Evidence suggests that he had manic depression, a chronic mental illness that affects many creative people. Although treatment with lithium carbonate is now available, the drug also dampens creative abilities. Many people believe that artists overcome suffering with their creative acts, but suffering may also overwhelm the artist. Had lithium carbonate therapy been available, Vincent van Gogh might have defeated his manic depression, avoided his tragic fate, and grown further as an artist. “If I could have worked without this accursed disease, what things I might have done,” he wrote in one of his last letters.

Attempt the following questions based on the passage:

Which among the following statements is correct?

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a

Psychiatric illness drove Vincent van Gogh to suicide.

b

Vincent van Gogh’s artistic brilliance was overshadowed by controversies in his personal life.

c

Although treatable, Vincent van Gogh did not undergo therapy for manic depression.

d

Vincent van Gogh was a teetotaller.

answer is A.

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Detailed Solution

The opening line of the last paragraph reads thus: “Plagued by psychiatric illness throughout his life, Vincent van Gogh committed suicide in 1890.” It is evident from the above that psychiatric illness drove Vincent van Gogh to commit suicide. So, option 1 is
correct. Options 2, 3 and 4 are not correct because they contain statements that are neither discussed in the text of the passage nor alluded to.

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