ABSTRACT
For many of us, the visual arts have a strong emotional impact. Constantly we read about the high prices paid for a van Gogh or a Picasso, and although we may disparage such material emphasis, crass consumership becomes a further sign of the value which we attribute to the work. Because psychoanalysis is a body of knowledge that takes as its subject matter the central preoccupations of humankind, it is not surprising that some analysts find the study of art fascinating. Certainly during the past century, beginning with Freud's study of Leonardo da Vinci, psychoanalysts have not neglected the field of the plastic arts (Freud, 1910).
