the Stendhal syndrome

Hi everybody,

I am not much of a TV watcher, but I loooooove listening to
podcasts, and one of my favorite programs is A Way With Words:
http://www.kpbs.org/Radio/DynPage.php?id=12

Anyway, I was just listening to last week's show (about Yiddish),
and the first phone-in question was from a woman who described
seeing a painting in the Louvre and bursting into tears. She wanted
to know if there was a word or term for this kind of emotional
reaction, and what do you know, there IS: the Stendhal syndrome.

Wikipedia defines it like this:

Stendhal syndrome or Stendhal's syndrome is a psychosomatic illness
that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, confusion and even
hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art.

It is named after the famous 19th century French author Stendhal
(pseudonym of Marie-Henri Beyle), who described his experience with
the phenomenon during his 1817 visit to Florence, Italy in his book
Naples and Florence: A Journey from Milan to Reggio.

Although there are many descriptions of people becoming dizzy and
fainting while taking in Florentine art, especially at the Uffizi,
dating from the early 19th century on, the syndrome was only named
in 1979, when it was written up by Italian psychiatrist Graziella
Magherini, who observed and described more than 100 similar cases
among tourists and visitors in Florence. The syndrome was first
diagnosed in 1982.....(etc)

Graziella Magherini must be a very busy woman, because she has also
come up with another related diagnosis: the David syndrome. Here
is a description from

http://www.cbc.ca/story/arts/national/2005/11/20/Arts/Davidsyndrome_0
51120.html?print

Great works of art, such as Michelangelo's David, can trigger
aggression, nausea and a desire to destroy the work, according to
Italian researchers.

"It's a range of strong emotions which go from enchantment, through
vexation ... a vandalistic impulse, right through to panic attacks,"
said Graziella Magherini, who has dubbed the new affliction
the "David syndrome."....(etc)

Well, I found this to be fascinating, and wanted to share it with
you. If you want to know more, Google has plenty of links for you.
Happy surfing.....and now I'll go back and finish listening to my
podcast.....

Liz

           
Received on Mon Feb 20 2006 - 01:06:59 GMT