Tortured artist

Vincent van Gogh, Self-portrait with Bandaged Ear, Easel and Japanese Print, January 1889. Van Gogh, who struggled with poverty and mental illness for most of his life, is regarded as a famous example of the tortured artist.

A tortured artist is a stock character and stereotype who is in constant torment due to frustrations with art, other people, or the world in general. The trope is often associated with mental illness.[1]

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