Jessica Territo

ENC 3315

Vincent van Gogh: The Man Behind the Advertisement


Vincent van Gogh is universally considered one of the greats in the history of art.
His use of bold colors, emotional intensity and merging of form and content has inspired
the masses and created a high standard of technique. The Dutch painters personal life is
studied almost as much as his works of art. The life of van Gogh was wrought with
sadness and misunderstanding yet a sense of undying hope flickered through his
brushstrokes and words.
The Post-Impressionist artist was born in the year 1853 in the Netherlands and
grew up surrounded by religion; due to the fact his father was a Protestant minister, and
little art education or influence. As a teenager, he dabbled with the arts working for The
Hague Gallery at the age of 16 and then tried his luck as a bookstore associate, an art
salesman and even a preacher in a Belgium mining district. Vincent remained in Belgium
to create his Dutch period paintings like The Potato Eaters of 1885. A year later, he
moved to Paris to join his brother Theo, then a manager of Goupils Gallery. After
meeting many artists like Paul Gauguin, who he had a tumultuous relationship with
resulting in the loss of a chunk of van Goghs ear, Vincent began to spiral downwards.
After the bout with Gauguin, van Gogh was sent to an asylum in Saint-Remy, France for
his fits of madness and lucidity. After spending almost two years in the asylum, where
some of his best works like Starry Night of 1889 were created, van Gogh was released
and two months later died due to a gunshot wound. (Vincent van Gogh Bio...)
Fortunately, Vincent left behind his beautiful works and his letters to his brother
Theo for the world to overanalyze and diagnose his tortured soul. Art historians and
psychologists have taken a liking to Vincents madness and over time the words
schizophrenic and crazy have become synonymous with van Gogh. A 2007 advertisement
from Finland for a drug used to treat schizophrenia and bi-polar disorder called Zeldox
used van Goghs Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear from the year 1889. (Zeldox: Van
Gogh) Vincents paintings have been used many a times for advertisements around the
world. Companies such as Panasonic Headphones and Alliance Franaise have taken
advantage of van Goghs self-portraits and modernized him for todays world using
portable music and selfies. Yet, no company had resorted to commenting on van
Goghs alleged mental illness until the pharmaceutical company Pfizer wrongfully
labeled him a schizophrenic for their drug Zeldox.
Pfizer is one of the worlds largest multinational pharmaceutical drug companies
producing Advil to Viagra and all the shades in between. The American corporation
based in New York City has been dominating the prescription drug scene for 150 years
and takes pride in applying science and our global resources to bring therapies to people
that extend and significantly improve their lives. (pfizer.com) Zeldox is one of those
therapies. The drug, also known as Geodon in the US, is an atypical antipsychotic
approved in more than 85 markets for treating schizophrenia, as well as for acute mania
and mixed episodes associated with bipolar disorder. It offers dosing flexibility, proven
efficacy and a favorable metabolic profile. (pfizer.com) Pfizer chose Vincent van Gogh
as a classical poster boy for the drug, encapsulating mental illness while trying to reach a
universal audience.
The painting, Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear, used in the Finnish
advertisement is one of Vincents most popular portrait paintings. It was completed not
long after his violent fight and eventual mutilation of his ear with the artist Paul Gauguin.
The truth of that fight has been largely overshadowed by the fallacious stories of Vincent
cutting his ear off for a lover who scorned him or the voices getting the best of him and
making him turn violent against his person. The truth isnt as melodramatic as these
stories told throughout history are but it is deeply disturbing.
In December of 1887, van Gogh and Gauguin were eating, drinking and painting
together in Arles in the south of France. For once in his life, van Gogh felt like he
belonged and was creating beautiful pieces alongside his best friend and confidant.
Unlike van Gogh, Gauguin was in the midst of fame and success, which involved him
moving away from the Impressionist movement and distancing himself from van Gogh.
Vincent was devastated when he confronted Gauguin about his imminent leave and in a
fit of rage Vincent took a razor and began to stalk Paul around the house. The moment
subsided and Vincent apparently blacked out which happened often but later that night,
alone, Vincent cut off a portion of his ear with the razor. Vincent then wrapped the ear in
newspaper and fled to the nearest brothel. There he asked for a girl named Rachel who he
gave the ear to saying, Guard this object carefully. (Van Goghs Ear) Vincent
couldve thought that he deserved some form of punishment for trying to attack his friend
or the story of Peter cutting off his ear and giving it to Jesus in the Bible which stemmed
from his religious upbringing. Whatever the case, the incident of the ear and Vincent is
not something to be tainted with.
Pfizer took Vincents self-portrait and digitally re-attached his ear to make it seem
possible if Vincent had the drug, Zeldox, he wouldnt have had a psychotic break and cut
off his ear. A side-by-side comparison, the original painting next to this re-imagined
fallacy brings about mixed emotions to people who have studied Vincents life. The
advertisement for Zeldox not only reconstructs Vincents ear back on his person, they
give a sense of contentment with his slight smile and a sparkle in his eye. Vincents self-
portraits were a way to express his feelings even when he was unsure how he felt about
his life. He was a man full of extreme talent yet lack of audience which led him to turn
into himself and paint what was staring back at him in the mirror. Pfizer takes away van
Goghs complete vulnerability in expressing his true emotions, sadness and discontent,
that was clearly seen in the original painting and gives him a phony smile to convince the
people hes okay.
Underneath the two images and to the right of the drugs name is a simple line of
text that states, for schizophrenia. Although Vincents life can be seen through
glimpses of his letters to his brother Theo and his emotional paintings, there is not
enough evidence to support the claim that he was a bona fide schizophrenic. Yes, there
are certain parts of Vincents life that raise questions about his mental health including
the ear incident but for a multi-billion dollar pharmaceutical company to tell the public
Vincent was a schizophrenic and he couldve saved his ear by using their product is
simply wrong. Sympathy is lacking for wrongly diagnosed people that are afflicted with
mental illness. Using van Goghs painting can be seen as a cheap and not so funny way to
market this serious drug. Schizophrenia is a serious disease and needs to be broadcasted
that way. A company that specializes in treatments for those afflicted should be apathetic
enough not to broadcast to the world fallacies.
Pfizer didnt create this advertisement in an attempt to stigmatize Vincent van
Gogh to schizophrenia. Their aim was to normalize the mental illness and abolish the
stigma that goes hand in hand with it. They wanted to give society a classical figure in
history to give mental illness a poster boy, which almost all brands try to do with
celebrities of today.
"The diseases that we civilized people labor under most are melancholy and
pessimism, stated van Gogh in one of his letters. (Van Gogh Quotes) He simply
figured out the core of his soul and maybe realized despite it all, he wasnt crazy. Putting
all his self-portraits next to each other on a timeline, one would see a drastic change from
dark to light in his paintings, which could signify a breakthrough or acceptance of some
sort. His last self-portrait of 1889 before his death in 1890, Vincent paints himself in
shade of blues greens and whites giving off a light and freeing vibe. Near the end,
Vincent letters to his brother and his paintings contrasted with each other; the former
conveying his opinions on life being useless and the latter honing in on a spark of
optimism.
Some believe the cause of his death, a gunshot wound, was self-inflicted others a
confrontation between two teenagers and himself. Even if he committed suicide, it
doesnt prove any type of mental illness. Depression is one thing and a separate entity
from schizophrenia. Van Gogh tried to convey to his brother what he was feeling by
stating The sadness will last forever. (Van Gogh Quotes) Depression is as serious as
schizophrenia but Pfizer, who is well aware of the differences, shouldnt have confused
the two for an advertisement. Vincent van Gogh was more than his battles with mental
instability. Sometimes one must suffer for their craft and Vincent was no stranger from
suffering but his paintings and words should speak for themselves.


























Works Cited

"Vincent van Gogh Biography." Vincent Van Gogh Gallery. Templeton Reid, LLC.
15 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.vangoghgallery.com/misc/biography.html>.

"Zeldox: Van Gogh." Ads of the World. Mediabistro Inc., 08 Feb. 2007.
Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
<http://adsoftheworld.com/media/print/zeldox_van_gogh>.

"About Pfizer." Pfizer: One of the World's Premiere Biopharmaceutical Companies.
Pfizer Inc. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.pfizer.com/about>.

Van Goghs Ear. Vincent Van Gogh Gallery. Templeton Reid, LLC.,
15 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.vangoghgallery.com/misc/biography.html>.

Van Gogh Quotes. Vincent Van Gogh Gallery. Templeton Reid, LLC.,
15 Jan. 2013. Web. 28 Sept. 2014.
<http://www.vangoghgallery.com/misc/quotes.html>.