Whether created for aesthetic or utilitarian purposes, a work of art is determined not only by the skill involved in its creation, but also by the mind of the artist or artisan. Whether in music, literature, or visual art, the spirit or mind of the artist deeply informs what his or her hands, holding pen or brush, impart to the manuscript or canvas. If the mind is troubled, we must expect that will show in the poem or painting.

Conversely, can we not expect that whatever might trouble the reader or museum visitor will affect the way he or she reads or sees a work of art? Is it only beauty that is in the mind of the beholder? Should we not also expect that it can be melancholy or hallucination?

The relation of mental illness to art has been studied by medical as well as non-medical researchers, and we have for some time been able to ponder this association in our professional work as psychiatrist (JN) and art historian (ML). The Museum at the Psychiatric Hospital in Aarhus houses more than 8000 works of art created by almost 90 psychiatric patients during the course of the past century. Most of the work is painting, some is sculpture, but integrated in the Museum is the Gallo Institute, which encourages patients to write poetry, essays, or even novels. During the course of this work we have arrived at what we believe is a fair understanding of the relation between art and mental illness. Of particular interest for physicians is the idea that this relation makes psychiatric diagnosis possible. As indicated above, the association can be considered in two ways: either the form given to art by the patient as an artist or the interpretation of art given by the patient as a beholder.