
Cataracts and Creativity: How Artists and Innovators Have Been Inspired by Visual Impairment
For centuries, couching was the treatment option for cataracts. In this method, a sharp needle was used to pierce the eye in the limbus, the border between the transparent cornea and the opaque sclera (white of the eye), until the doctor could manually dislodge the cataract. Along with the primitive extraction, the lack of technique and technology resulted in poor vision outcomes as well as complications like glaucoma, hyphema, endophthalmitis and blindness. With the evolution of surgery, cataract extraction was revolutionized in 1747 when French ophthalmologist Jacques Daniel performed the first extracapsular cataract extraction, however, not all of the lens could be fully removed. In 1753, a London surgeon named Samuel Sharp performed the earliest documented intracapsular cataract extraction that involved the removal of the opacified lens and surrounding capsule in one piece. In 1949, Dr. Harold Ridley determined that “extraction alone is but half the cure for cataract” and paved the way for modern advancement with the introduction of replacing the cataract with an intraocular lens. Today’s modern cataract surgery is attributed to the foundational and fundamental developments over hundreds of years to the extremely safe and effective use of phacoemulsification, pioneered in 1967, to break up the cataract by ultrasound to easily remove it and replace it with an artificial lens.
The best practices in cataract surgery have only been perfected in the last 50 or so years, so it is a wonder how many prominent people throughout history have blended cataracts and creativity-how artists and innovators have been inspired by visual impairment. Perhaps one would imagine that to draw intricate sketches or paint rich in detail landscapes, an artist would need stellar, if not perfect vision. You may be surprised to learn that famous impressionist, Claude Monet, suffered from a steady decline of cataract formation for a decade from 1912 to 1922 that affected his visual acuity and color perception. Common side effects of cataracts are the changing of the appearance of colors that look muddied or possess a yellowish tint. It’s interesting to note that some of the most expensive of Monet’s artwork ever sold at auction, prices upward of $110M, depict muted and slightly blurred painted landscapes, the result of his failing vision and his view of the world around him.
Different types of vision loss have influenced other artists as well. These include Leonardo da Vinci with intermittent exotropia, Edgar Degas with retinopathy, Auguste Renoir with myopia, Francis Bacon with dysmorphopsia, Georgia O’Keefe with macular degeneration, Rembrandt with stereo blindness and Pablo Picasso with strabismus. Despite their visual difficulties, they serve as examples that creativity cannot be thwarted and talent transcends abnormalities in eyesight. With the advancement in eye care that is continuously striving for the best vision possible and uncovering new ways to restore vision, artists and innovators can reap the benefits of cataract surgery that can get them back to their artistry with very little downtime.
For more information about cataracts, contact Pennachio Eye at 325-227-1999 or WEBSITE.