MELANCHOLY

© galeries nationales du grand palais

There is a fantastically sombre exhibition called Melancholy which I went to see with some trepidation. However, I thoroughly enjoyed it, obviously it appealed to the morbidity buried not that deeply in my soul. It traces the history of melancholy as a malady through the ages, from its roots in the ancient origins of the word itself (black bile) and its place as one of the humours in traditional Chinese medicine, through to the planetary influence of Saturn, via medical innovations, the development of psychiatry and finishing in our manic depressive modern world. But still, it was nice to get back out into the fresh air and stroll along the Champs Elysées afterwards!