The Guardian view on art and health: the masterpiece can cure the body as well as the soul | Editorial

"In an era characterised by burnout and doomscrolling, a therapeutic alternative is hanging on a gallery wall. When volunteers at London's Courtauld Gallery stood before Van Gogh's Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear, Manet's Bar at the Folies-Bergere, and Gauguin's Te Rerioa, their stress and inflammation levels dropped compared with those of volunteers viewing reproductions. Science suggests that original art is a medicine that one can view rather than swallow."

"A study by King's College London asked participants to look at masterworks by 19th-century post-impressionists Van Gogh, Toulouse-Lautrec, Manet and Gauguin while strapped to sensors. Half the group saw the originals in the gallery, half viewed copies in a lab. The results were clear: going to art galleries is good for you relieving stress and cutting heart disease risk, as well as boosting the immune system."

"These experiments follow research published last year by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport, to quantify the improvements to physical and mental health from taking part in creative activities, as well as the economic gain estimated to be an average of 1,000 per person a year, as a result of improved work productivity and fewer trips to the GP."

Original artworks viewed in galleries produce measurable reductions in stress and inflammation compared with reproductions, lowering cardiovascular risk and enhancing immune response. Experiments at major galleries used physiological sensors to demonstrate these effects while participants viewed masterworks by 19th-century post-impressionists. Government research quantifies physical and mental health improvements from creative participation and estimates economic gains from higher productivity and fewer GP visits. Reviews in leading journals identify art as a potential public-health tool for chronic disease prevention. Emotional engagement with artworks provides psychological escape and bodily calming that supports overall wellbeing.

Read at www.theguardian.com