Age and Ageing Advance Access originally published online on July 17, 2008
Age and Ageing 2008 37(5):605; doi:10.1093/ageing/afn139
Lives of the artists
Sir—In a recent issue of Age and Ageing, Greenspan et al. [1] reported that old master sculptors lived three years longer than painters, and that this difference in longevity was not related to geographical location. Their conclusions were derived from a statistical analysis of the biographies of 262 painters and 144 sculptors. The authors must be congratulated for their elegant study. The readers of Age and Ageing may be interested to know that the main conclusions of the paper are supported by a previous study, in which differences in life expectancy were demonstrated by comparing 128 sculptors versus 649 painters [2]. The sculptors' average lifespan was 67 and that of painters was 62, the latter increasing significantly during the 18th century. In the work of Greenspan et al. the underlying hypothesis was a higher energy expended by sculptors and associated consequences on immune process.An additional hypothesis may involve an occupational explanation for painters. Contact with oils containing white lead or gold minimum (red lead) may result in lead poisoning; cesure can make its way into grazed fingers and hands. Anecdotes recount how Jean-Baptiste Régnault (1754–1829) nearly died of poisoning from using his palette knife to carve bread, and how the great Antoine Watteau (1684–1721) died from the habit of sucking his brushes (although one may not rule out tuberculosis). Pigments are also dangerous, especially when containing arsenic, e.g., Veronese green, bright violet ammonium cobalt phosphate.
As discussed in the accompanying editorial [3], differences in life expectancy are also expected depending on social criteria, as documented elsewhere [4]. Interestingly, comparisons between painters and sculptors lead to similar findings over centuries and across various European countries [2]. Nowadays, in the general population, there is a mortality gradient from the north of Europe (high rate) to the south of Europe (low rate). In our study population [2], such a mortality gradient was documented since the 17th century, and the paper by Greenspan et al. may appear consistent with such a hypothesis, although the data did not reach statistical significance. A sudden lengthening of painters' lifespan has been documented since the 18th century [2], at the time of the first official public health programmes. Finally, a critical reading of the medical literature devoted to self-portraits reveals numerous inconsistencies and unresolved issues [5]. The Dequeker editorial [3] rightly points out the difficulty of using art as a tool to explore the reality of yesterday.
1 56 avenue Kléber, 75116 Paris, France
2 EA4046, Universitè Paris Sud 11, 94275 Le Kremlin Bicêtre, France
* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: philippeabastado{at}wanadoo.fr
References
- Greenspan P, Heinz G, Hargrove JL. Lives of the artists: differences in longevity between old master sculptors and painters. Age Ageing (2008) 37:102–4.
[Free Full Text] - Abastado P, Guiramand G, Bousquet B. Exploring signs of ageing and the lifespan since the 15th century through self-portraits. Ageing Soc (2005) 25 (Part 2):147–58.
- Dequeker J. Medicine and the artist. Age Ageing (2008) 37:4–5.
[Free Full Text] - Houdaille J. Eléments sur la mortalité différentielle a la fin du XVIIIème siècle et au début du XIXème siècle. Population (1989) 1:29–53.[Medline]
- Abastado P, Chemla D. Rembrandt's doctors. Med Humanit (2007) 33:35–7.
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