Stendhal syndrome

Stendhal syndrome

Stendhal syndrome, Stendhal's syndrome or Florence syndrome, is a psychosomatic illness that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, confusion and even hallucinations when an individual is exposed to art, usually when the art is particularly 'beautiful' or a large amount of art is in a single place. The term can also be used to describe a similar reaction to a surfeit of choice in other circumstances, e.g. when confronted with immense beauty in the natural world.

It is named after the famous 19th century French author Stendhal (pseudonym of Henri-Marie Beyle), who described his experience with the phenomenon during his 1817 visit to Florence, Italy in his book "Naples and Florence: A Journey from Milan to Reggio".

Although there are many descriptions of people becoming dizzy and fainting while taking in Florentine art, especially at the Uffizi, dating from the early 19th century on, the syndrome was only named in 1979, when it was described by Italian psychiatrist Graziella Magherini, who observed and described more than 100 similar cases among tourists and visitors in Florence. The syndrome was first diagnosed in 1982.

The term is often used when describing the reactions of audiences to music of the Romantic period.

References

* Graziella Magherini. "La Sindrome di Stendhal". Firenze, Ponte Alle Grazie, 1989. [http://www.auxologia.it/stendhalsyndrome]
* Frieze Magazine Article http://www.frieze.com/issue/article/the_shock_of_the_old/
*Cameron in Ferris Bueller's Day Off may be having a episode of the syndrome in the museum scene.
*In Chuck Palahniuk's novel Diary, Stendhal Syndrome is an important element of the plot and is referenced several times throughout the book.

ee also

* Jerusalem syndrome
* Motif of harmful sensation
* Paris syndrome

External links

* [http://www.auxologia.com/index3.html Auxologia: Graziella Magherini: La Sindrome di Stendhal (book)] (excerpts in Italian)
* [http://www.wordspy.com/words/Stendhalssyndrome.asp Word Spy definition]
* [http://digitalflotsamwp.podshow.com/?p=205 P.W. Fenton's Digital Flotsam Stendhal Syndrome Episode]


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