L’exploration du musicien italien à la fin du XIXe siècle : entre médicalisation et paradoxe

Abstract

This article explores the works of Cesare Lombroso on the man of genius and his relationships with insanity. It highlights these works’ prominent features such as the medicalized approach, the question of the heredity of talents, and the links between abnormality and eccentricity. Although for Lombroso music has a special effect on the human psyche, he develops few specific ideas on the musician’s genius in comparison to other artists. Underlining the development of the theme of the man of genius in post-unitarian Italy, this article suggests that it becomes a genre which combines literary aspirations, common sense, and medical considerations. While relying on existing scholarship and on interpretations of artists’ behavior, Lombroso points out the close relationship between the genius’s psychology and that of the mentally ill. Treating the question of the genius and the neurotic artist, Lombroso’s research, despite the criticisms it faced, clearly echoed preoccupations of great interest today.

Keywords

• Cesare Lombroso
• genius
• madness
• Italy
• musicians