Dostoevsky and Stendhal´s sydrome

Abstract

-Stendhal's syndrome occurs among travelers when they encounter a work of art of great beaut y. It is characterized by an altered perception of re a l i t y, emotional disturbances, and crises of panic and anxiety with somatization. The patient profile described originally for this syndrome was of part i c u l a r l y sensitive individuals who were admirers of works or art: artists, poets, writers and art students, among others. The Russian writer Fyodor Mikhailovich Dostoevsky suff e red from epilepsy and there is evidence that he presented the symptoms of Stendahl's syndrome while contemplating some works of art, part i c u l a rly when viewing Hans Holbein's masterpiece, Dead Christ, during a visit to the museum in Basle.KEY WORDS: Stendhal syndrome, Dostoevski, Hans Holbein dead Christ. Dostoiévski e a síndrome de StendhalRESUMO -A síndrome de Stendhal foi descrita pela psiquiatra italiana Graziela Margherini, em 1989. Foi assim denominada em homenagem ao famoso escritor francês Stendhal que viveu na Itália grande parte da sua vida como diplomata. Stendhal descreveu as sensações que se apoderaram dele ao se deparar com algumas obras primas de pintores e escultores em Florença -vivências estranhas, por vezes acompanhadas de sintomas físicos, sensação de profunda emoção, seguida de um leve entorpecimento, desorientação t ê m p o ro-espacial momentânea, sudorese profusa e desrealização. Esse conjunto de sintomas, ocorr i d o s durante a contemplação de uma obra de arte, foram catalogados por Graziela Magherini no hospital Santa Maria Nuova de Florença em 106 pacientes, todos eles viajantes que vieram a Florença pela primeira vez, passando a denominá-los síndrome de Stendhal. Com base nas reações do escritor russo Fiódor Mikhailovitch Dostoiévski diante do quadro O Cristo Morto, de Hans Holbein, o jovem, num museu da Basiléia descritas por sua segunda esposa Anna Grigoriévna Sniktina, em dados biográficos e na análise do entusiasmo com que o príncipe Míschkin, personagem principal do romance O Idiota, demonstra pelo quadro, na própria descrição que Dostoiévski fez dessa obra de arte, este autor propõe a ocorrência da síndrome no escritor russo diante da contemplação do quadro. Discute ainda a possibilidade de tais fenômenos serem manifestações críticas da epilepsia parcial complexa de que provavelmente Dostoiévski era portador. PALAVRAS-CHAVE: síndrome de Stendhal, Dostoiévski, Hans Holbein, Cristo morto.

Stendhal syndrome: a clinical and historical overview

“…About this moment, he wrote: "I had reached that point of emotion that meets the heavenly sensations given by the Fine Arts and passionate feelings. Leaving Santa Croce, I had an irregular heartbeat, life was ebbing out of me, I walked with the fear of falling" 9 .…”

“…The most frequent manifestations were: chest pains, palpitations, diaphoresis, asthenia and anxiety. Some of the victims of the most acute cases attempted to damage or destroy the artworks that elicited their discomfort 9 .…”

“…After collecting these observations, Dr. Magherini proposed three different clinical presentations of the condition. Sixty-six percent of the patients reported mainly neuropsychiatric symptoms, 29% exhibited severe mood disorders and 5% presented with panic attacks and dysautonomia symptoms, including cardiovascular complaints, resembling acute myocardial infarction or acute abdominal pain, caused by peptic ulcer, and/or intense acid reflux and dyspepsia 2,4,6,8,9 .…”

Stendhal Syndrome: A Psychological Response Among Tourists

“…Recently, a large number of clinically reported cases of SS have been intensively discussed beginning with an instance in 2005, in which Amâncio 5 , a Brazilian neurosurgeon, reported the case of a Russian novelist who showed the symptoms of SS. In 2009, Nicholson 6 wrote about an episode of paranoidpsychosis experienced by a 72-year-old following his visit to Florence.…”

Stendhal's Syndrome

“…Hans Holbein in Basle (and made his pregnant wife fear he was going to have one of his epileptic fits). 1 The German poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote in his first Duino Elegy: 'beauty is nothing but the beginning of terror, which we are still just able to endure, and we are so awed because it serenely disdains to annihilate us.' Philosophers were getting in on the act too.…”