The Starry Night

Vincent van Gogh’s “The Starry Night” (1889) is believed by some physicians to show evidence of digitalis toxicity in the way the Dutch painter depicted yellow-green halos around the stars. Van Gogh (1853–1890) suffered from mania and epilepsy and may have been given digitalis for lack of a more specific drug therapy. Digitalis can easily reach toxic levels in the blood. Symptoms of toxicity include nausea and vomiting, decreased heart rate, and sometimes visual halos. Van Gogh may simply have painted what he actually saw because of digitalis toxicity.