Monomania of Envy

In 1821 a more frazzled than usual Théodore Géricault made his return to France after an extended sojourn in England where he had been exhibiting The Raft of the Medusa to great acclaim.

While the European public waited anxiously for his next move, he typically turned inward and withdrew to the country, battling suicidal urges, near bankruptcy, and a series of riding accidents. This would lead to the production of one of his most intriguing portraits of the mentally ill, Monomania of Envy.

A Shift in Psychiatric Attitude:
At the beginning of the 19th century, there was a change in scientific thought regarding the proper treatment of the mentally ill in France.

The French Revolution had ushered in a new era in which those classes previously excluded from greater society were to become part of the masses. To this end, while the mentally ill had been previously sent to "madhouses," they were now sent to "asylums. "

Pioneering theorists such as Philippe Pinel pushed forward the idea that each patient should be evaluated as an individual, and observance of body language took on a new significance.

There was an emphasis on the idea that observation of individual behavior and mood would provide a positive method for diagnosing mental illness.

Géricault was friends with a prominent French psychologist named Etienne-Jean Georget, who was a pioneer in the study of those patients with monomania. He enlisted his friend Géricault to paint portraits of several patients, including a kleptomaniac, a gambling addict, and the woman pictured in this portrait - a woman consumed with envy.

These works were intended to be used by his students to identify any facial quirks that appeared as a result of the patients' disorders. As a colleague known only as Dr. Morison stated in 1825, "The appearance of the face, it is well known, is intimately connected with, and dependent upon, the state of the mind. "

For his stunning series of portraits executed in 1822 and depicting inmates of the Salpetriére Hospital in France, Géricault drew on a number of inspirations, both stylistically and thematically.

Psychiatry in France was undergoing some major changes and the new humanistic light in which mentally ill patients were seen was one of the largest inspirations that the artist had.

Rembrandt's portraits:
The stylistic manner in which Géricault completed his portraits of the insane, including Monomania of Envy, can be seen as a distillation of the style of Baroque artists, particularly Rembrandt.

Through tenebrism and chiaroscuro, Géricault places great importance - almost a spotlight effect - on the facial expression of the woman tormented by envy.

Sir Charles Bell:
The work of Sir Charles Bell, a physician, scholar, and psychiatrist, was immensely influential both on the French psychiatric establishment and the eventual works of Géricault.

Bell was particularly interested in the study of facial movements and in 1806 published a book on madness containing both photographs and drawings that undoubtedly helped to influence Géricault in the completion of this portrait.

Though he completed twelve portraits of the residents of Salpetriere Hospital, only five remain. Of these, none is as striking as Monomania of Envy, depicting a woman ravaged by malicious envy and hysteria.

To achieve an astonishing level of realism, Géricault used his signature somber lighting scheme and color palette, along with a strikingly sympathetic treatment of the woman's inner anguish.

Composition:
The drapery of the woman's cloak and the frills of her bonnet provide a circular frame for her face, which is the main focus of the composition. The impact lies in her twisted expression, her mouth drawn back in disapproval.

Her head leans slightly forward, her dark eyes intent on whatever is fixed in front of her. She is the embodiment of envy, thus what her attention is held by is the third unseen portion of the composition.

Color palette:
Rich autumnal colors are utilized by Géricault to give the portrait a soft, warm sensation and impression. The woman's garments are shades of vermillion and russet, her pallid skin in a variety of flesh, peach, and browns heightened and set off by the cream and neutered grey of her hair.

Tone:
The tone helps to heighten the emotional aspect of this painting, aiding the overall composition. The dark space behind the woman brings her softly lit face into the foreground, as the center of attention. Shadows accentuate the hollows of her cheeks and the recesses of her tortured eyes.

Brushwork:
Géricault uses fine brushstrokes to treat each line in the woman's face and to bring the texture and details to life. The background which sets off the expression on her face is treated with dark, bold strokes.

Texture:
There is an incredible richness of detail in the plush yet modest robes which adorn the subject. Great attention is given to the lace frills of her ragged cap, lending a frame to her haggard face.

As Théodore Géricault's landmark portraits of inmates at the Salpetriére Hospital were commissioned originally to be straightforward medical training tools, it is difficult to divide their critical reception from medical history itself and the way the mentally ill have been viewed throughout history.

Original contextual conflict:
When these works were finally uncovered in the late 1800s and exhibited to a critical public, they caused debate among scholars and fellow artists due to their visual power and unique subject matter.

The main issue is that of context: if a viewer didn't know that the subject was mentally ill, would he or she be able to discern the illness without the aid of the title? In this way the portrait of Monomania of Envy forced viewers and critics of the era to rethink the conventions of how a portrait is viewed.

From Expression to Action; Jean-Martin Charcot:
Charcot, known as the "father of modern neurology," undertook his own studies at the same Salpetriére Hospital in France. Charcot was interested in showing the distinction between the "appearance" of mental illness and the "acts" committed that signified illness. To this end, he put on a series of spectacular showings of women in the throes of hysteria, along with publications of photographs showing this same hysteria.

This move towards action rather than expression made Géricault's portraiture more of a relic of times past than a currently vital vision of mental illness.

Historical document:
To this day, Géricault's portraits of madness have continued to fascinate and repulse the viewing public and critics alike. Widely heralded as an artist ahead of his time, today Géricault's works are valued as a historical document of the view of the mentally ill during the 1800s.

While Géricault was certainly not the first nor the last painter to address the subject of mental illness, he was one of the first to undertake a series of explicitly realistic portraits of mental patients.

Other works by Gericault:
The Woman with Gambling Mania, c. 1822

A Man suffering from Delusions of Military Rank, c. 1822

Portrait of a Kleptomaniac, 1822

Works by other artists:
Albrecht Durer, Melencolia I, 1514

Antoine Wietz, Hunger, Madness, Crime, 1864

Alfred Kubin, Madness, 1914

Discovered approximately fifty years after Géricault's death, his portraits of the insane proved his ability to question what was considered to be suitable subject matter for artists.

Géricault treated portraits such as Monomania of Envy with an astonishing degree of humanistic realism. Also interesting is the fact that this work in particular is one of his very few representations of a female subject.

While much has been made of the treatment of the subjects, the truth remains that this was a commission from a friend, with the intent that these portraits would be a teaching tool. These portraits are compassionate though brutally realistic, influencing scores of modern artists.

While Géricault painted a wide variety of subjects during his brief yet illustrious career, the viewer can sense that the underlying current that runs through his work is a true adherence to individualism.

This spirit is what his followers admired, from those who knew him directly to those who only felt the electricity radiating from his paintings centuries after his death.

Frail, brooding and sensitive, Géricault was as romantic as a Romantic painter could be. While he began his career with grand military statements for the Emperor Napoleon, it was his later works, with their emotional brutality and raw empathy that captured the hearts of audiences for generations.

Unfortunately, Gericault's death at an early age prevents us from knowing how much further into the depths of humanity Géricault was capable of plunging. However, the work he did leave however was central to the Romantic Movement.

Romanticism is sometimes viewed as a reaction to its more serious predecessor, the Neoclassical movement. As Neoclassical artists focused on properly accounting history through close attention to detail, Romantic artists flirted with themes of man's self glorification, man's part in nature, divinity found in nature, and emotion.

The Romantic painters were part of a complex multimedia philosophical movement, involving the literary, visual, and intellectual arts.

Romanticism emphasizes the individual sense of self, creativity, imagination, and the value of art to make a statement. This emphasis on the individual is reflected in the ideas of self-realization through the act of contemplating nature.

There is the idea that the individual can only directly understand nature, free from society. Peace and salvation come through the individual rather than through political movements.

Géricault went on to influence the Realists, and is now considered a photojournalist even though his work was produced before photography even existed. Géricault's painting style was hugely influential on artists throughout the centuries, earning him a lasting place in the Western canon.

To read more about Gericault and his works please refer to the following recommended sources.

• Alhadeff, Albert. The Raft of the Medusa: Gericault, Art, and Race. Prestel, 2002
• Athanassoglou-Kallmyer, Nina M. Theodore Gericault. Phaidon Press Ltd; Ill edition, 2010
• Eitner, Lorenz E. A. Gericault: His Life and Work. Orbis Publishing, 1983
• Eitner, Lorenz E. A. & Nash, Steven A. Gericault: 1791-1824. Fine Arts Museum of San, 1989
• Grunchec, Philippe. Gericault's Horses: Drawings and Watercolours. Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd. , 1984
• Grunchec, Philippe. Master Drawings by Gericault. Art Services Intl. , 1985
• Sagne, Jean. Géricault. Fayard, 1991
• Wheelock, Whitney. Gericault in Italy. Yale University Press, 1997