There are also implications for the illness of Vincent van Gogh and the once popular, but now banned liqueur, called absinthe. Xanthopsia and van Gogh's yellow palette. Accordingly, we reviewed plausible agents that might have modified the artist's colour perception. Xanthopsia due to overdosage of digitalis or santonin is well documented elsewhere, but evidence of useage of either drug by van Gogh cannot be substantiated. It is unlikely that ageing of the human lens was an influence because of the artist's youth.
Sunstroke is too restrictive to fit the multiplicity of regions and motifs.
Hallucinations induced by absinthe, the popular liqueur of the period, may explain particular canvases but not the majority of 'high yellow' paintings. Van Gogh's proclivity for exaggerated colours and his embrance of yellow in particular are clear from his letters and, in contradistinction to chemical or physical insults modifying perception, artistic preference is the best working hypothesis to explain the yellow dominance in his palette. However, IMHO the author is insufficiently critical of of his historical sources. Vincent van Gogh and the thujone connection. But the artist admitted to episodes of heavy drinking that were amply confirmed by colleagues and there is good evidence to indicate that addiction to absinthe exacerbated his illness.