Graziella Magherini  

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-:''For the film, see [[The Stendhal Syndrome]]''.+'''Graziella Magherini''' is an [[Italy|Italian]] [[psychologist]], at the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital in Florence, Italy.
-'''Stendhal Syndrome''' or '''Stendhal's Syndrome''' is a [[psychosomatic illness]] that causes rapid heartbeat, dizziness, [[confusion]] and even [[hallucination]]s 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. +==Biography==
 +Graziella Magherini is most well known for her 1989 book ''La sindrome di Stendhal'' (''The [[Stendhal syndrome]]''), which introduced this term to indicate a [[psychosomatic illness]] affecting individuals when exposed to art. After nearly 20 years of experience with patients at Santa Maria Nuova Hospital in Florence, Italy, Dr. Magherini began to note certain pathological abnormalities in a select group of her patients. Foreign visitors who had arrived in droves to indulge in the sumptuous beauty and art of the city were stricken by sudden and mysterious psychosomatic episodes that were induced by their identification with select and "personalized" art. "The Stendhal Syndrome occurs most frequently in Florence, because we have the greatest concentration of Renaissance art in the world." Her groundbreaking study ''The Stendhal Syndrome (La Sindrome di Stendhal)'', published in 1989, is a description of her statistical methodology and, most importantly, a detailed description of some of her most interesting cases. Many of the case histories describe a foreigner who arrives in Florence, Italy and is overwhelmed by unrelenting attacks of Renaissance art and culture. In the 'Inge Case,' Inge arrives from a Scandinavian country where she teaches Italian to children. Her marriage is unsatisfactory and she is also filled with the guilt of leaving her failing father, for whom she is a caregiver. Her Florence trip is the first she has taken in many years. Upon arrival she immediately feels 'out of sorts' and when she attends an Italian class for a second day, she notices someone has taken her seat from the day before. Inge takes this as a sign that no one wants her in Florence. Suddenly, she is afflicted with an overwhelming sense of paranoia. Later, she visits one of Florence's famous cathedrals. She is drawn to one version of ''[[The Last Supper]].'' Inge has palpitations and sees flashes of lights. In between flashes she sees herself in the painting, as one of the women carrying a fruit basket to the table of Jesus. After steady decline in her mental condition she is admitted to the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital for observation.
-It is named after the famous [[19th century]] [[France|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]]''.+From these cases, Dr. Magherini has some startling conclusions about the effects of artwork on the psyche. During the mirroring between art and subject, a sublime, aesthetic, and uncanny event occurs. The art experience hooks a repressed trauma beneath the conscious sea of the subject rapidly pulling the trauma to the surface. The subject acts much like a distressed fish out of water. Dr. Magherini's job was to unhook the patient from this episode while under observation and gently place the patient back into the society. A related syndrome is the [[Jerusalem syndrome]].
- +
-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 [[Romanticism|Romantic period]]. +
==See also== ==See also==
-* [[Lisztomania (phenomenon)|Lisztomania]]+* [[Stendhal syndrome]]
-* [[Jerusalem syndrome]]+* [[Stendhal]]
 +* [[Culture shock]]
* [[Paris syndrome]] * [[Paris syndrome]]
-* [[Double Rainbow (viral video)]]+ 
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Graziella Magherini is an Italian psychologist, at the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital in Florence, Italy.

Biography

Graziella Magherini is most well known for her 1989 book La sindrome di Stendhal (The Stendhal syndrome), which introduced this term to indicate a psychosomatic illness affecting individuals when exposed to art. After nearly 20 years of experience with patients at Santa Maria Nuova Hospital in Florence, Italy, Dr. Magherini began to note certain pathological abnormalities in a select group of her patients. Foreign visitors who had arrived in droves to indulge in the sumptuous beauty and art of the city were stricken by sudden and mysterious psychosomatic episodes that were induced by their identification with select and "personalized" art. "The Stendhal Syndrome occurs most frequently in Florence, because we have the greatest concentration of Renaissance art in the world." Her groundbreaking study The Stendhal Syndrome (La Sindrome di Stendhal), published in 1989, is a description of her statistical methodology and, most importantly, a detailed description of some of her most interesting cases. Many of the case histories describe a foreigner who arrives in Florence, Italy and is overwhelmed by unrelenting attacks of Renaissance art and culture. In the 'Inge Case,' Inge arrives from a Scandinavian country where she teaches Italian to children. Her marriage is unsatisfactory and she is also filled with the guilt of leaving her failing father, for whom she is a caregiver. Her Florence trip is the first she has taken in many years. Upon arrival she immediately feels 'out of sorts' and when she attends an Italian class for a second day, she notices someone has taken her seat from the day before. Inge takes this as a sign that no one wants her in Florence. Suddenly, she is afflicted with an overwhelming sense of paranoia. Later, she visits one of Florence's famous cathedrals. She is drawn to one version of The Last Supper. Inge has palpitations and sees flashes of lights. In between flashes she sees herself in the painting, as one of the women carrying a fruit basket to the table of Jesus. After steady decline in her mental condition she is admitted to the Santa Maria Nuova Hospital for observation.

From these cases, Dr. Magherini has some startling conclusions about the effects of artwork on the psyche. During the mirroring between art and subject, a sublime, aesthetic, and uncanny event occurs. The art experience hooks a repressed trauma beneath the conscious sea of the subject rapidly pulling the trauma to the surface. The subject acts much like a distressed fish out of water. Dr. Magherini's job was to unhook the patient from this episode while under observation and gently place the patient back into the society. A related syndrome is the Jerusalem syndrome.

See also




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