KC in history

[Andrew MacLean]

I know it is a hopeless exercise, but it does seem to me that Keratoconus must have existed before it was first clinically described. We know that the Apostle Paul had very poor sight. It is also known that John Milton (1608 - 1674) lost his sight. He set out to write a sonnet complaining of what he had lost, but the poem turned out to be a testament to his courage and forebearance.

When I consider how my light is spent,
E’re half my days, in this dark world and wide,
And that one Talent which is death to hide,
Lodged with me useless, though my Soul more bent
To serve therewith my Maker, and present
My true account, least he returning chide,
Doth God exact day-labor, light denied,
I fondly ask; But patience to prevent
That murmur, soon replies, God doth not need
Either man’s work or his own gifts, who best
Bear his mild yoke, they serve him best, his State
Is Kingly. Thousands at his bidding speed
And post o’re Land and Ocean without rest:
They also serve who only stand and wait.

I was wondering whether anybody else can think of examples of people in history who seem to have trodden the path we take?

[Matthew_]

I didn't know Paul had eyesight problems other than on the road to Damascus, which was divine intervention.

It must have been there but I suspect you didn't go around talking about it in case you lost your living or something. Plus its such a gradual thing, perhaps people just thought it was age. In most cases they have been in their dotage before it became debilitating?

[Andrew MacLean]

Matthew

Paul makes repeated reference to a "thorn in his flesh', and when he writes personal messasges at the end of some of his letters he states that it is he who is now writing and draws attention to the size of the characters he is marking on the page.

Not conclusive, I know, but indicative of someone who was struggling to see clearly. As a tent maker he had probably benefited from short sight; he could hold the fabric far closer to his eye and see more clearly at short distance than a 'normally' sighted person could. a bit like keratoconics.

Andrew

[brigid downing]

Hi
An interesting discussion,

Edgar Degas, 1834-1917 - suffered a deteriation in his sight and feared he would go blind~which he never actually did.

In 1871, he wrote to his close friend, the artist James Tissot: "I have just had and still have a spot of weakness and trouble in my eyes. It caught me at Chatou by the edge of the water in full sunlight whilst I was doing a watercolour and it made me lose nearly three weeks, being unable to read or work or go out much, trembling all the time lest I should remain like that." And in February of 1873, again to Tissot, he wrote: "This infirmity of sight has hit me hard. My right eye is permanently damaged."

The real source of Degas's early eye troubles remains unclear. Sickert confirmed Paul Valéry's report when he wrote in 1923 that Degas "attributed this affliction to the fact that, during the siege of Paris, he had slept in a studio with a high window from which the cold air poured down on his face at night." Degas's theory is fully consistent with the popular medical beliefs of his time.

He later complained of "spots" of absent vision which he could not see round and that he was torchured by sunlight. He would only venture out in the evenings and at night, painting only indoors and wearing coloured glasses - very much at odds with impressionist's love of the outdoors and sunlight.

His problems are usually attributed to retinopathy,but that diagnosis was not made in his life time and no medical records survive. KC and the effects of scarring could equally account for his problems.

El Greco is often said to have suffered from astigmatism. His dramatic emphasis of differences in light and his depiction of figures which often have elongated limbs, small heads, and stylized facial features have been attributed to failing vision - these aspects become more exaggerated in El Greco’s later works suggesting a continuing deteriation. BUT it is equally reasonable to conclude that the distorted tendencies in El Greco’s works are attributed to a purposeful style and not a visual abnormality. I know little of his personal life and when he painted inside - it was the recognised norm of the time.

Brigid

[Andrew MacLean]

brigid

Thanks for that post: I know that Claude Monet also had eye trouble, but I think it is known that he had cataracts, so that the change in the colour of his water lillies can be explained by the change in his visual perception.

I did not know about El Greco, nor about Degas.

Yours aye

Andrew

[Alison Fisher]

Fascinating thread.

On a more personal note I'm a keen family historian and as my Mum had mild KC I've always looked out for any signs of sight problems amongst my ancestors. I've never found any but part of me would love to.

[Matthew_]

This is very interesting. Not only blindness but how this has changed history or culture even, brilliant!
Now I am showing my ignorance here but I presume Braille was a person?
I wonder how many adaptations have resulted from blindness or poor vision which are now taken for granted?

[Andrew MacLean]

Yes, Louis braille was French

You can find out about him here

http://www.braille.org/

[Anne B]

My parents run a charity called compass braille,
They translate bibles and script into braille for the blind in India mainly.
My children have some braille books that my dad has given them i can not make head nor tail of it
I have also seen some very sad video that my dad took on his last visit to India and that is a huge kick up the backside when my KC is getting me down.
Sorry a bit off topic but as someone mentioned Braille it gave me a good excuse to show off my parents good work

Anne