But he was not an artist, but a conservator. His job was to restore the existing historical painting, not create a new one from his imagination. He was, by all accounts, extremely meticulous about that in all other assignments apart from this one. Other than that, if he "liked painting demons" there would be notebooks and canvases full of the stuff at home. There were none. So the fact that this is a one-off, extremely serious breach of professional etiquette, combined with an obsession with a subject matter he was not otherwise interested in, does indeed make it rather weird.
I find it really interesting that you are defending against a claim that was never made in the article - the possibility of him being "demonic". Personally I found it strange that the piece speculated so much from a psychological angle but didn't remotely mention the spiritual, while my thoughts on reading were exactly that - perhaps the person or place was under some kind of demonic possession and this is the outcome of a spiritual attack. A little instance of the world we don't understand spilling over into the one we do.
"The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist." - Keyser Söze, after Baudelaire
A fascinating case indeed. It’s interesting to speculate about what could explain what happened.
> Personally I found it strange that the piece speculated so much from a psychological angle but didn't remotely mention the spiritual, while my thoughts on reading were exactly that - perhaps the person or place was under some kind of demonic possession and this is the outcome of a spiritual attack.
Because mania and delirium are things that actually happen and can be caused by many things (somebody else mentioned ergotism; there are other things that cause behaviours that can be interpreted as religious); demonic possession does not.
> "The greatest trick the Devil ever pulled was convincing the world he didn’t exist." - Keyser Söze, after Baudelaire
I would not trust a 19th century poet with syphilis and off his face on absinth to tell me what is true and what is not. Besides the logical fallacy embedded in that specific quote.
Looking at that picture, I'm not seeing anything demonic or disturbing in it. This view is often seen by people under influence of drugs or alcohol, if they ever manage to remember details, and this gives a plausible explanation: the author was high that time, and must've confused his otherwise banal vision with something important.
I've used drugs. I've generally been casual about it (save for nicotine and sometimes THC), but it means that I've met a few actual users in my time.
Most folks aren't seeing demons, and especially not enough to do a 2-year secret art project while on drugs. It is, honestly, more common for a businessperson to have a secret drug habits.
I'd also like to point out that folks have seen demons for quite some time in history without having it fueled by drugs: Religion can fuel this, especially when combined with little understanding of the observable world around you.
And lastly, just because you don't see anything demonic nor disturbing doesn't actually take away from it being such to others. I put random eyes in artwork sometimes: I like it, but it really makes some folks' skin crawl. They definitely have different opinions than I do.
That might be possible, but according to the article, the images were created over the course of two years.
If the conservator was under the influence of drugs or alcohol for that long, I would imagine signs would have showed up in his other jobs, in his personal documents, or in other aspects of his life (the vicar didn't note that much substance consumption?)
Regardless of the cause, I'm quite interested in what the conservator's reaction to it would have been if/when he realized he did not actually conserve the original art. I've watched a few art conversations (Baumgartner Restoration on YouTube is great!) and there's a huge pride in accurately reproducing/restoring the original.
He was under influence once (e.g. a delirium episode), he saw that vision once and it really impressed him. The true importance of these demons is that of mosquitos: they are unimpressive, but drugs may distort visuals so mosquitos appear as dragons for example.
