Persisting aphasia, cerebral dominance, and painting in the famous artist Carl Fredrik Reuterswärd.
What about artistic creativity following a cerebral lesion? We studied the case of a prominent right-handed Swedish painter and sculptor who suffered a cerebral hemorrhage at the age of 55 years. The patient displayed a lesion of the left capsular lenticular region, which resulted in a right hemiplegia and sensory loss, with aphasia of the subcortical type. The linguistic impairments recovered well but at 1 year postonset, the right hand was still completely paralyzed. After a period of a few weeks, during which the patient refused to use his nondominant hand, he produced his first left-handed drawing, and by 1 year postonset, he had once again resumed an intensive artistic activity using his nondominant hand. The pictorial works were reviewed by several renowned art specialists: changes of style and even of contents were judged without loss of artistic quality. The result was described as a gain in emotional and artistic intensity. We discuss our observation in the context of the literature and focus on the crucial role of cerebral dominance and hand preference. We conclude that pictorial creativity and language are distinct forms of expressions.
Colombo-Thuillard
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Department of Neuropsychology, Hôpital Cantonal, Fribourg, Chauderon 38, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Assal
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D001037:Aphasia / Q000209:etiology / Q000266:history*; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000503:physiopathology; D002544:Cerebral Infarction / Q000266:history* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003405:Creativity; D007839:Functional Laterality / Q000502:physiology*; D006429:Hemiplegia / Q000266:history; D049673:History, 20th Century; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010151:Paintings / Q000266:history*; D013548:Sweden