Vincent van Gogh and digitalis.

1 During his short, stormy, and tragic life, Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) seriously suffered from ep‐ isodes of depression, anxiety, seizures, and pain. He had probably a bipolar (manic‐depressive) dis‐ ease but epilepsy, schizophrenia, chemical intoxi‐ cation, Ménière’s disease, and porphyria are con‐ sidered as other possible diagnoses.1 Van Gogh portrayed his last physician, Dr Paul Gachet, with a flower of foxglove (Digitalis purpurea), a favorite homeopathic plant of the doc‐ tor (FIGURE 1). In those times, digitalis was used not only for heart diseases but also for many neurological and psychiatric disorders.2 Epilep‐ sy was a leading diagnosis during hospitaliza‐ tion of the artist in Arles (1888) and St. Remy de Provence (1889) when he cut off a part of his ear after the dispute with Paul Gauguin. Digitalis on the portrait of Dr Gachet symbolizes the pro‐ fession of the model and probably the hope of the painter for fast relief and recovery. The artistic way of van Gogh was a trip to the south of France in search of light and sun, CLINICAL IMAGE