My mom had schizophrenia and luckily meds helped her somewhat tho often drowsy from her meds. She was a loving, gentle mom and was aware of her illness. She was also brilliant, an artist and graduated from high school at 16 and had a terrific sense of humor. Thank you for presenting another fascinating character! 😊
Crossed letters were a common thing before the penny post. It was a way of saving paper and postage costs as the recipient paid the cost of the letter. Poor Dadd and his poor family. His paintings disturbed me terribly as a child. Well done and thank you for this video. Schizophrenia is horrible.
"intended to do the same thing to... the emperor of Austria" Me, an Austrian: 😲😱 But fun aside, my sister has paranoid schizophrenia and just spent all the money our parents put aside for her on a month long trip to the US (I don't know why the evidence would be there, we've left all rationality behind) to prove Hitler is her real grandfather (somehow), it's increasingly difficult to keep her on her medication and inside the country, if I wasn't an atheist I'd ask for prayers at this point, I can't imagine a worse mental illness 😔
Thank you for another fascinating talk. It seems to me that the obsessive and often repetitive detail in many of his hospital paintings must have some connection with his mental state, they remind me of works of art by schizophrenic patients in the Dr Guislain Museum in Ghent (a really interesting place with regard to the history of the treatment of mental patients).
I had a book about faeries that contains some of his work. It's fascinating. Sad that he was so ill, and that his poor father lost his life because of it.
i have never heard of this artist till now ...what an astonishing life he had...even though this is probably the most extreme as it gets. its such a privilege to learn about unknown artists who deserve alot more credit. it also makes me think ..my life isnt as exciting as i thought it was ...although i am extremely introverted painter/artist ..outsider.
Sounds like demonic possession. Criminally insane, but an astounding artist of prodigious scope Some of his scenes remind me of Hieronymus Bosch's work.
I'm very happy that I came across your channel. Fascinating people make fascinating subjects. Your presentations are very good -- balanced and respectful. Thank you!🏆
This is so interesting. This channel is very informative. I quickly thought schizophrenia. I didn't know how ill he had actually got. Anyone else remember a lost picture by Dadd that turned up on the antiques roadshow? It was one painted on his trip to Egypt. Luckily it was recognised.
I wonder if he hadn't made that trip to Egypt and been under so much stress from the heat, the lack of rest to be able to get some drawing in and the pipe smoking (was that opium!) he might not have become so ill. Though perhaps a very stressful event back home might have triggered the illness. Interesting talk!
Thank you for these wonderful, learned and compassionate explorations into these very human and relatable minds. Sanity is truly the finest line we all must tread. Blessings☮✝💜
I have worked in mental heath for over 30 years and I definitely agree that he experienced Schizophrenia. The frenzied murder of his father is tragic. I love his paintings. Thank you.
Schizophrenia or demon possession and call me insane, but nobody that works in mental health should poo-poo demonic possession. In our culture its not only mental illness, but spiritual disease that contributes to much violence and turmoil. Its the remained convinced his father was a demon, and would strike out without warning and then immediately apologize that makes me think he had zero control, as if a lil bug lived in his head and decided when it would or wouldn't control the vehicle.
You have a wonderful voice! A nice and relaxed presentation. Thank you for spotlighting Richard Dadd; a brilliant artist, despite his unfortunate fate.
Man...never heard of his work. I'll correct that! Very enlightened Drs to allow him to continue his craft. Personally, even with modern medical treatment individuals that act out murderous impulses should be confined or ordered into close medical supervision
Yet again I have enjoyably learned something new! Thank you. As an aside, I am fascinated by the psychological basis of child proteges and wonder if there is a measure of nature of nurture at play, or has it been shown that people like Mozart and current young talents have been studied to be far more complex, and only a few of some seem to progress into adulthood? A thought for a future study? Whatever, a super video presentation that served as a supplement to your Sassoon study! Rob
I went to art college in Rochester. Dadd was - and still is - one of my favourite artists. Back then, it was said that during the coach journey he took, after killing his father, he contemplated killing his fellow passenger, but reconsidered, as the moon came out from behind a cloud. This, he thought, was a sign that he should spare the passenger's life.
I think the susceptibility to schizophrenia is genetic - he was at the typical age of onset when his symptoms started - but stress can also precipitate an episode.
I’m not educated but had heard of this chap so gave your presentation a go & am really chuffed I did & shall checkout the stories of these interesting historical folk. Could that have been something more psychoactive than tobacco in that Hookah pipe ? Thanks Professor 👍
Can do a study on Lord Byron? He had some peculiar ideas about lifestyle. And Caroline Lamb, who was his aristocratic side piece for a short time described him as ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’. What was the mad part?
My Grandfather on my mother's side was definitely an iconoclast, and was a huge admirer of Lord Byron. No list of those that march to the beat of a different drummer would be complete without Lord Byron! RIP Michael O' Flaherty, my Granddad, from the days when the Irish were rebels against tyranny and not conformists!
A unique personality to do a documentary on would be the Poet Ezra Pound. The government incarcerated him in St Elizabeth's mental hospital as a political prisoner. Bobby Fischer was an aberrant Grand Master iconoclast against the background of the Cold war and the Rage Against The Russian Chess Machine. You don't have to be a chess buff to find his story fascinating (but it helps). When you get right down to it the world provides a never ending list of significant and challenging personalities to profile. Both Pound and Fischer were geniuses labled as "SCHIZOPHRENIC" by the weaponized mental health segment of the government. Problem is with documenting guys like this is that you get into areas of heavy contention
@@professorgraemeyorston that's great! GOOD TO HEAR When you have a weaponized mental health system, like they did in The Soviet Union and the USA ( and still do) it is used to demonize and label "SCHIZOPHRENIC" those that oppose the system. Bobby wound up on the bad side of both the US and SOVIET SYSTEMS for complex reasons, but neither were able to assassinate him physically. Does character assassination count? Bobby was definitely a one of a kind CHARACTER, not exactly the way they smeared him to be. He feared for his life and with good reason. Escaped to Iceland , when the US government seized his passport Pound, a brilliant poet, involuntarily incarcerated in St. ELIZABETH'S GULAG without benefit of trial for opposing TPTB over the radio waves. Labeled TREASONOUS. Just the sort of stories you can sink your teeth into. Another interestingly contentious American to profile would be Henry David Thoreau.......
I'm glad he didn't "regain his senses" and have to realize what he did to his own father. What a tragic story. It sounds like the 5 days of drug use could have triggered the onset of schizophrenia? Possibly speeded up a process already in place? I always feel I've learned something from your videos. Every one is interesting and informative. Thanks!
I am glad dispite the fact he had severe mental illness he kept painting. Sad he was born in a time when they did not have medication. That warms my heart. I totally agree with your diagnosis of him. He was a brilliant artist. I do wonder IF he had taken meds ....if his art would have been effected.
I am not a doctor and do not pretend to be, sir. I know people with mental illness like this when they are not on strong meds ; the poetry and art can be more vibrant. I ❤️ LOVE your chanel, Doctor! Please do one on the Kaiser of Germany.
The poor man went through hell, with hallucinations that were relentless. His ability to paint so beautifully , may have been his saving grace. There is still a stigma against schizophrenia , as my Son was diagnosed with the disease. People , not all think that they are violent. My Son , wasn't. Thank you , for another fascinating video.
You can separate artists from their social context, but I think the fact that most of his paintings were created while he was locked in an asylum is worth a mention!
@@professorgraemeyorstonI viewed the painting when it was exhibited in Toronto in the late 90s , whilst listening to the song in my portable CD player. The one thing that I found the big peculiar is that while the lyrics ostensibly describe the variety of activities that the characters in the painting are engaging in, they don't seem to be 100% accurate. I wasn't sure if I missed something, or if Freddie took a few liberties for some reason
What a brilliant artist, mental health can affect anyone. He’d would have had so much help today. Thank goodness for our modern understanding of mental health.
3:05 Who else watched this video after YT's or Google's A.I. saw and recorded AND USED that you just saw the Antiques Road Show where this exact image was featured?
I wonder whether he picked up some paracytic disease on his travels? Some people speculate Mervyn Peake picked something up during his childhood in China that later caused his insanity. Maybe a topic for a future video?
Thank you for the video. I now know what schizophrenia is. I have a CD with songs by the canadian singer Loreena Mckennitt illustrated with the beautiful bachannal scene painted by him. I can't help wondering at the amazing cost for society of those psychiatric asylums. Maybe he held his father responsible for the mental illness running in the family.
Although criticised now, the huge nineteenth century asylums were a big improvement in the care of the mentally ill who had simply been locked in cellars or made outcasts previously - but the tax payers constantly complained about the cost and standards gradually fell as they got fuller and fuller.
This was very informative, though I wish you had gone into a little more detail why you believed it was schizophrenia vs bi-polar disorder. Was it due to the age of onset, the "voices/delusions" and the sudden bursts of violence?
The nature of his delusions, their persistence over time and there being no connection with an altered mood state all point towards schizophrenia - but all historical diagnoses have to be taken with a pinch of salt - they are at best educated guesses based on limited information.
Ive never heard of Dadd till now and he was certainly talented and schizophrenia isn't that stinking scary i personally don't have it or any mental illness for that matter im Autistic and physically disabled but I too also paint but I was once in a painting club with a guy with schizophrenia and he painted abstract modern art inspired by nasa and science and he said his voices were all like him and only told him to be kind to everyone and what to paint and made him laugh to himself alot he kinda was like rainman but not autistic meets Beavis from Beavis and Butt-head and Forrest Gump thats the best way i can describe this dude but he told me he always had company and never was alone when he talked to himself and he lived on his own and never bothered anyone and folks liked him Dadd sounds like yeah he had schizophrenia and your the Dr but with the lack of remorse he sounded like he was also a sociopath too maybe..most schitzos at least the ones like i knew and ive known a few were unique or yikes but at least they had empathy and remorse but people stigmatized mental illness just like autism and not everyone with either or is exactly what you think just depends on the person and severity and except for murdering his dad he was talented..but what you think about Dali or Picasso their art makes me wonder about their mental health Please excuse my lack of punctuation my eyesights isn't the best and take care and God bless
I think Dadd didn't have remorse, because there was no effective treatment in those days and nothing to take away his delusion that he had to kill the man purporting to be his father.
it’s so interesting that his schizophrenia did not seemingly affect his painting. i have seen paintings by very mentally disturbed artists and patients whose art or drawings are incredible representations of their demonic thoughts in landscapes and self portraits of themselves being tormented by all kinds of thing’s completely changing how they look and palpably expressing their self-destructive penchant or feelings of being disconnected in both body and mind. i think Louis Wain’s work, when he was mentally disordered, were works of art also. they were organized and a furthering of his creativity. i am so glad both these artists were allowed their artistry while institutionalized. Thanks for the videos on both Dadd and Wain. although their disorders were completely different, it so fascinating. :) 🌷🌱
the disassociation of his mindset and his work, could also point to demonic possession. Seemingly normal to deadly violent to chaotic remorse in 3.4 seconds. It cannot be ruled out.
Although mental hospitals always get a bad press, they were not all bad, and it is interesting to think how much of their time they would be able to devote to their art nowadays.
That is one of the theories about Van Gogh - but three of Dadd's siblings had similar though less severe mental illnesses and they were not painters - their father however was an ormolu restorer which involved working with mercury.
@professorgraemeyorston very interesting details you've been adding here in the comments. Could there be a "part two "episode featuring these musings on the rest of the family, why they might have been so affected, the Ormulu connection etc? Also, this might be an opportunity to take us *more slowly* through one or two of those phantasmagoria paintings - they flashed by much too quickly the first time around (illustrator here). Thanks!
Folk Singer Nick Drake read an article about Dadd while he (Drake) was in the midst of his own mental illness, he was obsessed and disturbed by the parallels between them.
Very interesting. I have never heard of him. Is there an age when schizophrenia commonly presents itself? I was thinking as I watched this that perhaps he contracted a parasitic infection that affected his brain while he was traveling in Egypt. Would such a thing be possible? I had a friend who was physically sick for years and years. I asked her when was the last time that she was well and she pinpointed a certain time prior to leaving for a trip to India. I asked her to mention this to a doctor and ask to be tested for parasites and that is exactly what it was.
Schizophrenia typically starts in early adulthood - parasites in the brain can cause neuropsychiatric symptoms - but in Dadd's case the strong family history, course of the illness and his symptoms all point to schizophrenia.
I persume that he wouldn't paint anymore if he got medications of today All this extremely talented people like Richard Dadd are alone, they haven't no support against their deep fears and nightmares (((...Vincent van Gogh have only his brother who helped him
In his medical notes didn't the Doctor monitoring him in France (from a book I read a few years ago),write that because Dadd believed himself to be the son of the Sun God, he looked at the sun directly for days on end but only seemed to get a slight reddening in the eyes, ..thank you for mentioning this..because wouldn't that usually make someone completely blind? yet he returns to London, and his paintings created there while incarcerated are so detailed and precise you'd need a magnifying glass to see them properly. surely there's something supernatural and 'miraculous' about this? It's a pity he didn't paint his religious beliefs, I got the impression the subjects of the paintings were suggested by the administrators of the asylum, I'm looking forward to reading through copies of his medical records again.
Great content, but you flashed through many of his illustrations way too quickly. Even pausing them did not help due to the transitional method applied.
@@professorgraemeyorston Thank you for the video... It was very interesting and about an artist I had never even heard of before. Some of his work is astoundingly beautiful.
That trip to egypt sounds like it may have sealed his fate…this is just an assumption, but his mental health may have started deteriorating before then…..
Smoking hookahs....if he smoked hashish, could this have induced his latent schizophrenia. A work colleague who seemed strange became permanently insane after a time spent in London living rough and using amphetamine. I have met a few borderline people struggling to keep it together.
Cannabis, especially the high THC varieties of today can induce psychosis, but generally it improves after a few days if the person is no longer using - but in those people who were at risk of developing schizophrenia anyway, drugs can trigger an episode of psychosis that then persists.
The poor man was not taught to distinguish between his inner archetypal life and that of his ego-consciousness and therefore this false diagnosis of a mental disease persisted.
Something organically awry with the construct of his brain? With 2023s M. R. I.and surgery skills, Dadd may have returned to status of a healthy Creative Mind. Too bad he followed the White Rabbit info Egypt's Wonderland. Pitiable. Respectfully submitted for your consideration Gregg Oreo Long Beach CA etats unis
Thanks Gregg - his mental illness used to be classified as a "functional" disorder because it was believed there was structural abnormalities in the brain, but as more and more evidence of brain dysfunction emerged, the term has been largely dropped.
@@professorgraemeyorston dear Sir. Thank you for your reply, I'm honored. I can see why some people easily dismiss .ALL ARTISTS as mad, saying,"...a thin line between genius and being crazy... " In today's age, such a slick dismissal can apply to more than artists: politicians, college students, snubbed lovers, and all manner of social strata members without a sense of connection to their Better Angels whether or not they've labored through their Carl Jung homework of encountering their Shadow Self. What beautiful art our Englishman made, how tragic he, along with mad dogs, went out in the noon day sun, as Noël Coward so aptly observed. Happy Christmas Season to you and your family.. sincerely yours Gregg Oreo
My mom had schizophrenia and luckily meds helped her somewhat tho often drowsy from her meds. She was a loving, gentle mom and was aware of her illness. She was also brilliant, an artist and graduated from high school at 16 and had a terrific sense of humor. Thank you for presenting another fascinating character! 😊
Thank you and thanks for sharing the story of your mom!
Crossed letters were a common thing before the penny post. It was a way of saving paper and postage costs as the recipient paid the cost of the letter. Poor Dadd and his poor family. His paintings disturbed me terribly as a child. Well done and thank you for this video. Schizophrenia is horrible.
Thank you, his trip was just after the Penny Black was introduced in the UK - but I don't suppose Queen Vic carried much weight in Ottoman Levant!
"intended to do the same thing to...
the emperor of Austria"
Me, an Austrian: 😲😱
But fun aside, my sister has paranoid schizophrenia and just spent all the money our parents put aside for her on a month long trip to the US (I don't know why the evidence would be there, we've left all rationality behind) to prove Hitler is her real grandfather (somehow), it's increasingly difficult to keep her on her medication and inside the country, if I wasn't an atheist I'd ask for prayers at this point, I can't imagine a worse mental illness 😔
It can be very difficult for families, just keep trying to ground her as much as possible.
Thank you for another fascinating talk. It seems to me that the obsessive and often repetitive detail in many of his hospital paintings must have some connection with his mental state, they remind me of works of art by schizophrenic patients in the Dr Guislain Museum in Ghent (a really interesting place with regard to the history of the treatment of mental patients).
Thank you, the Museum looks very interesting, I'll add it to my list of must sees!
I had a book about faeries that contains some of his work. It's fascinating. Sad that he was so ill, and that his poor father lost his life because of it.
It is a sad story.
i have never heard of this artist till now ...what an astonishing life he had...even though this is probably the most extreme as it gets. its such a privilege to learn about unknown artists who deserve alot more credit. it also makes me think ..my life isnt as exciting as i thought it was ...although i am extremely introverted painter/artist ..outsider.
Glad you enjoyed it.
I love his work. I wish there was a really good up to date bio of him. Thank you for this! His night skies are my favourite!
Thank you, it's a shame he hasn't quite achieved the fame of the Surgeon of Crowthorne.
Sounds like demonic possession. Criminally insane, but an astounding artist of prodigious scope
Some of his scenes remind me of Hieronymus Bosch's work.
I'm very happy that I came across your channel. Fascinating people make fascinating subjects. Your presentations are very good -- balanced and respectful. Thank you!🏆
Thank you very much!
This is so interesting. This channel is very informative. I quickly thought schizophrenia. I didn't know how ill he had actually got. Anyone else remember a lost picture by Dadd that turned up on the antiques roadshow? It was one painted on his trip to Egypt. Luckily it was recognised.
Thank you - I have used that picture in the video.
Genius and insanity.
Mischievous bedfellows!
They often travel hand in hand.
A really interesting artist. Thankyou for presenting his works and life.
My pleasure.
Freddie mercury wrote the song fairy fellows master stroke because he loved the painting by dadd it is included on the album queen 2 !
He went frequently to the gallery and took all the band members.
I wonder if he hadn't made that trip to Egypt and been under so much stress from the heat, the lack of rest to be able to get some drawing in and the pipe smoking (was that opium!) he might not have become so ill. Though perhaps a very stressful event back home might have triggered the illness. Interesting talk!
Thank you, I suspect he would have become ill anyway - 3 of his 6 siblings had a mental disorder, one of whom was a long term patient at the Bethlem.
@@professorgraemeyorston Seems it ran in the family and yes he would have become ill anyone.
more than likely hashish as opposed to opium. But then again, it very well could have been.
This is the 2nd of your videos that ive seen, and i really enjoyed them both. Keep up the good work!
Thanks, will do!
Thank you for these wonderful, learned and compassionate explorations into these very human and relatable minds. Sanity is truly the finest line we all must tread. Blessings☮✝💜
My pleasure, thank you.
Very interesting Professor, thank you! 👏🙏
My pleasure! Glad you enjoyed it.
Wonderful video! I had never heard of him, but his work is stunning. I must ask my daughter, who's an artist, if she's familiar with him.
Thank you.
Ooh! I've been hoping for this! Thank you.
No problem 😊
A very well done video. Very interesting and beautiful images. You are such a talented narrator, I am always please to listen to you. Au revoir!
Thank you very much!
I have worked in mental heath for over 30 years and I definitely agree that he experienced Schizophrenia. The frenzied murder of his father is tragic. I love his paintings. Thank you.
He remained convinced that he had done the right thing.
Schizophrenia or demon possession and call me insane, but nobody that works in mental health should poo-poo demonic possession. In our culture its not only mental illness, but spiritual disease that contributes to much violence and turmoil. Its the remained convinced his father was a demon, and would strike out without warning and then immediately apologize that makes me think he had zero control, as if a lil bug lived in his head and decided when it would or wouldn't control the vehicle.
You have a wonderful voice! A nice and relaxed presentation. Thank you for spotlighting Richard Dadd; a brilliant artist, despite his unfortunate fate.
Thank you.
great work happens here on this channel. thank you for that.
Thank you.
Thank you for your excellent videos. They are extremely relaxing and always interesting.
Thank you for your support.
Man...never heard of his work. I'll correct that! Very enlightened Drs to allow him to continue his craft. Personally, even with modern medical treatment individuals that act out murderous impulses should be confined or ordered into close medical supervision
It's interesting to think what would have become of him today would he have continued painting if he was medicated.
That's a very good question
I like to think he would have, but he would have had to deal with a lot more of the hassles of everyday life in a de-institutionalised era.
Thank you Professor G for this and other interesting video's.
Kind regards from Australia
Thank you Pamela - can you think of any interesting Australian topics - I want to be as inclusive as possible.
It's hard to be normal. Thanks for the video.
Agreed!
Thank you so much for this.
Glad you enjoyed it.
Yet again I have enjoyably learned something new! Thank you. As an aside, I am fascinated by the psychological basis of child proteges and wonder if there is a measure of nature of nurture at play, or has it been shown that people like Mozart and current young talents have been studied to be far more complex, and only a few of some seem to progress into adulthood? A thought for a future study? Whatever, a super video presentation that served as a supplement to your Sassoon study! Rob
Thank you. Child prodigies - a fascinating topic.
I went to art college in Rochester. Dadd was - and still is - one of my favourite artists.
Back then, it was said that during the coach journey he took, after killing his father, he contemplated killing his fellow passenger, but reconsidered, as the moon came out from behind a cloud. This, he thought, was a sign that he should spare the passenger's life.
That's correct.
Excellent 👍
Many thanks
Stunning work! I enjoy your channel very much.
Thank you very much!
How sad. Hearing his symptoms, I immediately thought schizophrenia, brought on by the stress of travel and drugs.
I think the susceptibility to schizophrenia is genetic - he was at the typical age of onset when his symptoms started - but stress can also precipitate an episode.
I’m not educated but had heard of this chap so gave your presentation a go & am really chuffed I did & shall checkout the stories of these interesting historical folk. Could that have been something more psychoactive than tobacco in that Hookah pipe ? Thanks Professor 👍
There could well have been - that might have caused a drug-induced psychosis, but it would not have persisted.
more than likely hashish. aka marijuana. Demonic possession is a definite possiblity.
Can do a study on Lord Byron? He had some peculiar ideas about lifestyle. And Caroline Lamb, who was his aristocratic side piece for a short time described him as ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’. What was the mad part?
Thank you, he's definitely on the list!
My Grandfather on my mother's side was definitely an iconoclast, and was a huge admirer of Lord Byron. No list of those that march to the beat of a different drummer would be complete without Lord Byron!
RIP Michael O' Flaherty, my Granddad, from the days when the Irish were rebels against tyranny and not conformists!
A unique personality to do a documentary on would be the Poet Ezra Pound. The government incarcerated him in St Elizabeth's mental hospital as a political prisoner.
Bobby Fischer was an aberrant Grand Master iconoclast against the background of the Cold war and the Rage Against The Russian Chess Machine. You don't have to be a chess buff to find his story fascinating (but it helps).
When you get right down to it the world provides a never ending list of significant and challenging personalities to profile. Both Pound and Fischer were geniuses labled as "SCHIZOPHRENIC" by the weaponized mental health segment of the government. Problem is with documenting guys like this is that you get into areas of heavy contention
Thank you for the suggestions, I don't have a problem with being contentious!
@@professorgraemeyorston that's great! GOOD TO HEAR
When you have a weaponized mental health system, like they did in The Soviet Union and the USA ( and still do) it is used to demonize and label "SCHIZOPHRENIC" those that oppose the system.
Bobby wound up on the bad side of both the US and SOVIET SYSTEMS for complex reasons, but neither were able to assassinate him physically. Does character assassination count? Bobby was definitely a one of a kind CHARACTER, not exactly the way they smeared him to be. He feared for his life and with good reason. Escaped to Iceland , when the US government seized his passport
Pound, a brilliant poet, involuntarily incarcerated in St. ELIZABETH'S GULAG without benefit of trial for opposing TPTB over the radio waves. Labeled TREASONOUS.
Just the sort of stories you can sink your teeth into.
Another interestingly contentious American to profile would be Henry David Thoreau.......
Another tormented artist Francesco de Goya and/or Vincent Van Gogh would be interesting videos as well
Thank you, great suggestions, both are in my radar - I have done a short on Van Gogh.
I'm glad he didn't "regain his senses" and have to realize what he did to his own father. What a tragic story. It sounds like the 5 days of drug use could have triggered the onset of schizophrenia? Possibly speeded up a process already in place? I always feel I've learned something from your videos. Every one is interesting and informative. Thanks!
Thank you, the regaining of insight in schizophrenia can be devastating.
or opened up a door for demonic possession.
@@MrSoulauctioneer Always a possibility.
I am glad dispite the fact he had severe mental illness he kept painting. Sad he was born in a time when they did not have medication. That warms my heart. I totally agree with your diagnosis of him. He was a brilliant artist. I do wonder IF he had taken meds ....if his art would have been effected.
It is an interesting question. I would like to think he would have carried on painting.
I am not a doctor and do not pretend to be, sir. I know people with mental illness like this when they are not on strong meds ; the poetry and art can be more vibrant. I ❤️ LOVE your chanel, Doctor! Please do one on the Kaiser of Germany.
The poor man went through hell, with hallucinations that were relentless. His ability to paint so beautifully , may have been his saving grace.
There is still a stigma against schizophrenia , as my Son was diagnosed with the disease. People , not all think that they are violent. My Son , wasn't. Thank you , for another fascinating video.
Thanks for watching.
Lead based paint?
Possibly - but three of his siblings were also mentally ill - so more likely genetic.
Impressive, is that I watched a 15 minute +/- of him a few months ago, and his sanity did not get mentioned at all - soley his work.
You can separate artists from their social context, but I think the fact that most of his paintings were created while he was locked in an asylum is worth a mention!
How many of you first heard of Richard Dadd because of the Queen song?
Freddie Mercury used to go and see the picture at the Tate Gallery often and would take the other band members along as well.
@@professorgraemeyorstonI viewed the painting when it was exhibited in Toronto in the late 90s , whilst listening to the song in my portable CD player.
The one thing that I found the big peculiar is that while the lyrics ostensibly describe the variety of activities that the characters in the painting are engaging in, they don't seem to be 100% accurate. I wasn't sure if I missed something, or if Freddie took a few liberties for some reason
How very tragic.
A sad story.
I remember a flatmate of mine in university had one of his sketches of Crazy Jane i believe it was.
Crazy Jane is a haunting picture. Very much ahead of its time.
What a brilliant artist, mental health can affect anyone. He’d would have had so much help today. Thank goodness for our modern understanding of mental health.
Thank you, many people are quick to criticise mental health practitioners, forgetting just how far we have come in only 70 years or so!
3:05
Who else watched this video after YT's or Google's A.I. saw and recorded AND USED that you just saw the Antiques Road Show where this exact image was featured?
A couple of years ago, people would have thought you mad for suggesting this... you may be right.
I wonder whether he picked up some paracytic disease on his travels? Some people speculate Mervyn Peake picked something up during his childhood in China that later caused his insanity. Maybe a topic for a future video?
Thanks for the heads up, I didn't know about Peake.
Thank you for the video. I now know what schizophrenia is. I have a CD with songs by the canadian singer Loreena Mckennitt illustrated with the beautiful bachannal scene painted by him. I can't help wondering at the amazing cost for society of those psychiatric asylums. Maybe he held his father responsible for the mental illness running in the family.
Although criticised now, the huge nineteenth century asylums were a big improvement in the care of the mentally ill who had simply been locked in cellars or made outcasts previously - but the tax payers constantly complained about the cost and standards gradually fell as they got fuller and fuller.
Inspiration for 'The dance' by Matisse? Hmmmmm.....1:11
Interesting, it is Blake's Oberon and Titania that is generally considered a close match, but it is likely that Dadd would have known Blake's work.
@@professorgraemeyorston I've been binging your channel. Great stuff!
This was very informative, though I wish you had gone into a little more detail why you believed it was schizophrenia vs bi-polar disorder. Was it due to the age of onset, the "voices/delusions" and the sudden bursts of violence?
The nature of his delusions, their persistence over time and there being no connection with an altered mood state all point towards schizophrenia - but all historical diagnoses have to be taken with a pinch of salt - they are at best educated guesses based on limited information.
Ive never heard of Dadd till now and he was certainly talented and schizophrenia isn't that stinking scary i personally don't have it or any mental illness for that matter im Autistic and physically disabled but I too also paint but I was once in a painting club with a guy with schizophrenia and he painted abstract modern art inspired by nasa and science and he said his voices were all like him and only told him to be kind to everyone and what to paint and made him laugh to himself alot he kinda was like rainman but not autistic meets Beavis from Beavis and Butt-head and Forrest Gump thats the best way i can describe this dude but he told me he always had company and never was alone when he talked to himself and he lived on his own and never bothered anyone and folks liked him
Dadd sounds like yeah he had schizophrenia and your the Dr but with the lack of remorse he sounded like he was also a sociopath too maybe..most schitzos at least the ones like i knew and ive known a few were unique or yikes but at least they had empathy and remorse but people stigmatized mental illness just like autism and not everyone with either or is exactly what you think just depends on the person and severity and except for murdering his dad he was talented..but what you think about Dali or Picasso their art makes me wonder about their mental health
Please excuse my lack of punctuation my eyesights isn't the best and take care and God bless
I think Dadd didn't have remorse, because there was no effective treatment in those days and nothing to take away his delusion that he had to kill the man purporting to be his father.
As an artist I'm convinced that most artist have some sort of mental health illness from insanity, substance abuse to harmless eccentric behaviours.
There is a higher rate of mental illness in creatives, but there plenty who don't have a mental illness
it’s so interesting that his schizophrenia did not seemingly affect his painting.
i have seen paintings by very mentally disturbed artists and patients whose art or drawings are incredible representations of their demonic thoughts in landscapes and self portraits of themselves being tormented by all kinds of thing’s completely changing how they look and palpably expressing their self-destructive penchant or feelings of being disconnected in both body and mind.
i think Louis Wain’s work, when he was mentally disordered, were works of art also. they were organized and a furthering of his creativity. i am so glad both these artists were allowed their artistry while institutionalized.
Thanks for the videos on both Dadd and Wain. although their disorders were completely different, it so fascinating. :) 🌷🌱
the disassociation of his mindset and his work, could also point to demonic possession. Seemingly normal to deadly violent to chaotic remorse in 3.4 seconds. It cannot be ruled out.
Although mental hospitals always get a bad press, they were not all bad, and it is interesting to think how much of their time they would be able to devote to their art nowadays.
I wonder if he wasn't inadvertently swallowing some dangerous paint, laden with heavy metals?
That is one of the theories about Van Gogh - but three of Dadd's siblings had similar though less severe mental illnesses and they were not painters - their father however was an ormolu restorer which involved working with mercury.
@professorgraemeyorston very interesting details you've been adding here in the comments. Could there be a "part two "episode featuring these musings on the rest of the family, why they might have been so affected, the Ormulu connection etc? Also, this might be an opportunity to take us *more slowly* through one or two of those phantasmagoria paintings - they flashed by much too quickly the first time around (illustrator here). Thanks!
Folk Singer Nick Drake read an article about Dadd while he (Drake) was in the midst of his own mental illness, he was obsessed and disturbed by the parallels between them.
Thanks, I didn't know that.
Very interesting. I have never heard of him. Is there an age when schizophrenia commonly presents itself? I was thinking as I watched this that perhaps he contracted a parasitic infection that affected his brain while he was traveling in Egypt. Would such a thing be possible? I had a friend who was physically sick for years and years. I asked her when was the last time that she was well and she pinpointed a certain time prior to leaving for a trip to India. I asked her to mention this to a doctor and ask to be tested for parasites and that is exactly what it was.
Schizophrenia typically starts in early adulthood - parasites in the brain can cause neuropsychiatric symptoms - but in Dadd's case the strong family history, course of the illness and his symptoms all point to schizophrenia.
@@professorgraemeyorston Thank you for your answer.
I persume that he wouldn't paint anymore if he got medications of today
All this extremely talented people like Richard Dadd are alone, they haven't no support against their deep fears and nightmares
(((...Vincent van Gogh have only his brother who helped him
It is an interesting question, people can still paint and play instruments on medication, though some people say it affects their fine motor control.
@@professorgraemeyorstonPeter Green said the medication for his schizophrenia affected his playing.
In his medical notes didn't the Doctor monitoring him in France (from a book I read a few years ago),write that because Dadd believed himself to be the son of the Sun God, he looked at the sun directly for days on end but only seemed to get a slight reddening in the eyes, ..thank you for mentioning this..because wouldn't that usually make someone completely blind? yet he returns to London, and his paintings created there while incarcerated are so detailed and precise you'd need a magnifying glass to see them properly. surely there's something supernatural and 'miraculous' about this? It's a pity he didn't paint his religious beliefs, I got the impression the subjects of the paintings were suggested by the administrators of the asylum, I'm looking forward to reading through copies of his medical records again.
Yes, you would expect it to have damaged his eyes which doesn't seem to have been the case.
Sounds like possession in some circles
But I'm a doctor, so I think he was ill.
Im a nurse and I think he was ill 🤣
Loving your chosen subjects. (I am a General Nurse of 38 yrs.)
Glad you're enjoying them!
Isn't everyone who commits murder (excluding the accidental ones or the ones done in self-defence in extreme cases) mentally abnormal in a way?
It depends how you define abnormal. Most don't have a mental illness.
i was bought here by the song and video by QUEEN "The Fairy Fellah's Master Stroke." I wonder who else?
Other people have made similar comments, hope you found it interesting.
I think this entire episode san be summed up with "But, Dadd!"
Pretty much.
How do we know he didnt have a brain tumor?
A brain tumour can cause psychosis, but it is likely to cause additional neurological symptoms.
How do we know he yelled that, right after ge killed his father?
Good point - I assume he revealed that to one of his doctors.
Scary
But true!
Great content, but you flashed through many of his illustrations way too quickly. Even pausing them did not help due to the transitional method applied.
This was an early one and I was a bit too keen to keep the pace up - I've slowed down a little in more recent videos.
@@professorgraemeyorston Thank you for the video... It was very interesting and about an artist I had never even heard of before. Some of his work is astoundingly beautiful.
What happened to Dadds mom?
She died when he was 7, probably from tuberculosis, he was then brought up by his father and aunt.
Just found your channel; could you do a study of Nikola Tesla?
Great suggestion. He's on the list.
Richard Dadd killed his Dad😶
He did indeed.
That trip to egypt sounds like it may have sealed his fate…this is just an assumption, but his mental health may have started deteriorating before then…..
Yes, the onset of schizophrenia usually begins slowly and insidiously and it may be months or years before the full psychosis emerges.
Never heard of Mr Dadd great Artist sister was diagnosed with Scizophrenia need to read up on it
Strong family history of mental illness.
talk to us about Jimmy Savile
I'll add him to the list.
Smoking hookahs....if he smoked hashish, could this have induced his latent schizophrenia. A work colleague who seemed strange became permanently insane after a time spent in London living rough and using amphetamine. I have met a few borderline people struggling to keep it together.
Cannabis, especially the high THC varieties of today can induce psychosis, but generally it improves after a few days if the person is no longer using - but in those people who were at risk of developing schizophrenia anyway, drugs can trigger an episode of psychosis that then persists.
@@professorgraemeyorstonThat is what happened to Peter Green- psychosis following a massive LSD dose.
Hes a one of my great uncles
Do you have any artistic talents?
Not a chance
🎉
Thank you.
Sounds like THC-induced Psychosis.
THC may have triggered the onset, but unless he brought back his own supplies, it is unlikely that this played a role in his continuing illness.
Dadd killed his father. These things make you wonder.
Yes indeed.
Dadd huh?
Yup!
Maybe he discovered incest between brother and sister in Egypt. Wasn't Osiris married to Isis?
The siblings were indeed married.
@@professorgraemeyorston I think that one of his sisters was married to a friend of his.
I guess his middle name was Kill.
Trying to be serious.
Perhaps he was possessed by a Jin in Egypt.
Hm....perhaps, if you believe in such things.
The poor man was not taught to distinguish between his inner archetypal life and that of his ego-consciousness and therefore this false diagnosis of a mental disease persisted.
Or maybe he just had schizophrenia.
@@professorgraemeyorston scitzophrenia is just the labeling of a set of symptoms.
You may be a psychiatrist, but you're not MY psychiatrist.
I won't argue with you on that.
Something organically awry with the construct of his brain? With 2023s M. R. I.and surgery skills, Dadd may have returned to status of a healthy Creative Mind. Too bad he followed the White Rabbit info Egypt's Wonderland. Pitiable. Respectfully submitted for your consideration Gregg Oreo Long Beach CA etats unis
Thanks Gregg - his mental illness used to be classified as a "functional" disorder because it was believed there was structural abnormalities in the brain, but as more and more evidence of brain dysfunction emerged, the term has been largely dropped.
@@professorgraemeyorston dear Sir. Thank you for your reply, I'm honored. I can see why some people easily dismiss .ALL ARTISTS as mad, saying,"...a thin line between genius and being crazy... " In today's age, such a slick dismissal can apply to more than artists: politicians, college students, snubbed lovers, and all manner of social strata members without a sense of connection to their Better Angels whether or not they've labored through their Carl Jung homework of encountering their Shadow Self. What beautiful art our Englishman made, how tragic he, along with mad dogs, went out in the noon day sun, as Noël Coward so aptly observed. Happy Christmas Season to you and your family.. sincerely yours Gregg Oreo
maybe he was suicidal and killed the wrong Dadd.
There is no evidence he was.
No such thing as a neuropsychiatrist. You are a psychiatrist, which is part of neuroscience. The label you chose is redundant and unclear.
It is what is says on my door.