This is a little bit Sunday Evening Art Gallery post, a little Humoring the Goddess post. You’ll see what I mean.
I am a sucker for those “10 Things You Didn’t Know About …..” Most of them are flops, but every now and then I come across something that is extraordinary.
In 1995, U.K.-based American artist William Utermohlen was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.
Before his death, Utermohlen created a heart-wrenching final series of self-portraits over the stages of Alzheimer’s, which lasted roughly five years.
The last self-portraits, painted between 1995 and 2001, are unique artistic, medical, and psychological documents. They portray a man doomed yet fighting to preserve his identity and his place in the world in the face of an implacable disease encroaching on his mind and senses.
Alzheimer’s symptoms not only include memory loss or dementia and personality changes but it also affects the part of the brain, which is responsible for visualizing capabilities, so crucial for a painter.
With Alzheimer’s progressing, the art becomes visibly more abstract, blurrier and vague, due to the loss of the aforementioned capabilities.
The artist’s widow Patricia explains exactly why these images are so powerful: “In these pictures we see with heart-breaking intensity William’s efforts to explain his altered self, his fears and his sadness.”
Apart from portraits, still lives and drawings from the model, Utermohlen’s art can be arranged in six clear thematic cycles: The “Mythological” paintings of 1962-63; the “Cantos” of 1965-1966 inspired by Dante’s Inferno; the “Mummers” cycle of 1969-1970 depicting characters from South Philadelphia’s New Year’s Day parade; the “War” series of 1972 alluding to the Vietnam war; the “Nudes” of 1973-74; and finally the “Conversation Pieces”, the great decorative interiors with figures, of 1989-1991.
William Utermohlen died March 21, 2007. The mere thought that this artist tried to paint his being through the very end of his Alzheimer’s pays tribute to the creative soul in each one of us.
More of William Utermohlen’s story and paintings can be found at Bored Panda and Chris Boïcos Fine Arts websites.
Humoring the Goddess 
I so agree.
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That is sad. The pictures do help a person understand what Alzheimer’s does to the brain.
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Oh, no, not to worry — it’s only that I was deeply touched ☺️
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🤗
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Yes. I know a few whose loved ones went through this, and it’s heartbreaking for all involved. Thank you for sharing.
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Thank you. I was really affected by this man, an artist, a husband … someone who tried to share what it’s like on the other side.
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Wow, that is so sad and so interesting at the same time, thanks for sharing this.
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Incredibly moving. It is a horrible disease. 😢
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I hope I didn’t bring up too much pain … it shows that a person’s soul is with them until the end. Thank you for your kind words.
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I have never seen anything like it. I feel so much for everyone dealing with a slow death like this. Thank you.
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Unbelievable. I am so moved by this share. Thank you.
There is so much pain and loss portrayed in his artistic journey, yet there is also beauty and inspiration in his ability to stay connected, as best he could, to his creative self. 🎨 💖
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Oh, my dear. As a poet doggedly documenting a path which has itself brushed with death — and with a father of my own who himself died of this disease — this hit very close to the heart. I’m so touched. Thank you, even more than most, for this nourishing and uplifting share.
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