In light of the many situations that history has observed for great artists, and their personality traits that can be described as psychological disorders, it may be good to look at the history of narcissistic personality disorder, which usually affects artists in different fields: drawing, acting, singing, or otherwise.

According to American psychologist Robert Raskin, who conducted a study entitled "The Relationship Between Narcissism and Creativity", people who consider themselves creative or have exceptional artistic talents are usually dominated by narcissistic personality traits.

History of recipes

The name narcissism goes back to the Greek myths and myths of the gods, as Narcissus or Narcissus was a very handsome and beautiful hunter from the descendants of the gods, and he was arrogant and self-confident to the point that he was arrogant towards everyone who loved him as well.

The goddess Nemesis noticed his vanity and pride, and decided to punish him by taking him to a lake where he saw the reflection of his image on the water page, and he immediately fell in love with himself.

His admiration for his image reached such an extent that he was unable to leave the lake and kept staring at his image until he died.

Narcissistic personality thinking, according to the American Journal of Psychology, is characterized by a wild imagination that is usually focused on imagining himself in great success or exceptional emotional relationships because he is beautiful, intelligent, strong enough, and deserves everything that is special.

This type of exaggerated perception of the self leads him by extension to think that he is a distinct personality and should deal only with the distinguished, and accordingly, the narcissist’s sympathy for others is limited if not non-existent, so that they sometimes do not hesitate to exploit others out of that very perfect image of the self.

Representations of Narcissus

The famous Italian artist Caravaggio painted Narcissus in 1599 AD, showing a handsome young man wearing an elegant dress of brocade, leaning with both hands on the water and showing great interest in his image reflected in the water completely, as the legend remembers, as he almost embraces himself while he is in a position On the pond, leaning with both hands.

The painting is dominated by dark colors that create an atmosphere of gloom, and the figure of Narcissus is surrounded by darkness in a closed circle, which is reflected in the water.

Caravaggio further demonstrated Narcissus' vanity by giving him a remarkable resemblance to an angel in his painting Rest on the Flight into Egypt.

He also wore a tunic made of the same material as Magdalene in The Penitent Magdalene.

In this way, Caravaggio explains that the narcissist sees himself as an equal to the sacred figures.

Literary critic Tommaso Stigliani says, "The legend of Narcissus demonstrates beyond any doubt the unfortunate end of those who love themselves too much."

Narcissism among creators

Art historian Ian Gibson notes in his book Salvador Dali's Autobiography that the famous surrealist was narcissistic to a shameful degree.

Gibson considered that Daly's most shameful act was not only his extreme sectarianism, but that he enjoyed psychologically abusing his parents, believing that he deserved the best parents in the world.

Gibson reports that Dalí sent a souvenir picture of his painting "The Sacred Heart" to his parents on which he wrote, "Sometimes I spit on my mother's picture."

Which prompted his father to write, in 1930, a agonizing letter to Dalí's friend, film director Louis Powell, imploring him to try to prevent Dalí from approaching them (meaning himself and his mother). My life like this, he's ruining his mother's health."

In the same vein, the world-famous painter Pablo Picasso lived and died.

At the beginning of the 21st century, Marina Picasso, one of Pablo Picasso's granddaughters, was the first member of the family to publicly show the extent of the pain and suffering experienced by the family because of the arrogance of the painter, who was also known as narcissistic personality disorder.

Picasso did not shy away from doing anything that made him happy and comfortable, no matter how harmful it was to those closest to him.

"No one in my family has managed to escape the stranglehold of this genius," says Marina Picasso. "He needed blood to sign each of his paintings: the blood of my father, my brother, my mother, my grandmother, my blood. He needed the blood of those who loved him."