From Freud and Jung's depth psychology to Van Gogh and Picasso
Psychological Codes in Famous Paintings Guided by an Art Therapist

Throughout human history, art and psychology have always been mirrors reflecting each other and sources of inspiration.
Art sought to express inner feelings that cannot be expressed in words through color, line, and shape, while psychology sought to scientifically explore the human mind and behavior.
When we stand before the works of art in an art museum, we do not simply appreciate their beauty.
Some paintings evoke long-forgotten memories, while others convey an unknown sense of anxiety or comfort.
At that very moment, the art museum is transformed into a laboratory of psychology.

Van Gogh's passionate brushstrokes reveal traces of depression and madness, while Picasso's radical deconstruction of form reveals the division and reconstruction of the human mind.
Moreover, the gaze in the self-portrait poses the universal human question, 'Who am I?'
In this way, the art museum is a space where the secrets of the human spirit are condensed, and paintings are a mirror of the mind and a vivid text of psychology.
“The Psychology of Going to an Art Museum” starts from this very point.
By re-examining paintings through the lens of psychology and attempting to re-read the mind through the language of painting, we demonstrate how art can go beyond mere appreciation and become a window into understanding our emotions and thoughts.


Through this book, readers will not only gain a new perspective on works of art, but will also vividly experience the psychological mechanisms and emotional flow that operate in the deepest layers of the human mind.
The art museum is soon to become a living psychology classroom and a space for healing.
"Psychology at the Art Museum" breaks down the barriers between art and human understanding, and explores the fascinating and profound secret encounter between the mind in a painting and the painting in the mind.

Gauguin urged Van Gogh not to paint only what he saw, but to express his imagination, and Van Gogh had a strong philosophy that all paintings begin from nature.
There was an unbridgeable gap between the artistic perspectives of the two men.
In particular, the two chairs painted by Van Gogh are often analyzed from various perspectives.
These two highly symbolic paintings reveal Van Gogh's unconscious feelings towards his father.
Vincent's Chair with a Pipe was created in October 1885, shortly after his father's death.
--- p.47

Kusama began experiencing hallucinations around the age of ten.
One day, while walking in the garden, I saw purple flowers talking to each other with strange expressions, and as I was looking at a red floral tablecloth, I had a vision of it growing bigger and bigger, covering the ceiling, the windows, and Kusama's body, and eventually swallowing the entire universe.
The work, “Flower of Fantasy,” which recreates the terrifying hallucinations experienced in childhood, feels like a gateway that leads us into a world of fantasy.
--- p.68

“The Man Mad with Fear” and “The Man in Desperation” are self-portraits that record Courbet’s emotional reactions to the rejection and failure he experienced in his early years as a painter.
Rather than being faithful to the task of reproducing objective reality, he may have painted self-healing self-portraits faithful to expressing his subjective self and the mental state he experienced during difficult moments in his life.
--- p.102

Critics viewed Kahlo as a surrealist, but she considered herself a realist.
Because Calo painted the subject he knows best, not the surreal, namely himself and the sad reality.
The fact that as many as 55 of the 143 works Kahlo left behind are self-portraits shows that she was obsessed with expressing the complex and painful aspects of being a woman, using herself as her subject.
--- p.113

Among the various archetypes covered in analytical psychology, the 'anima/animus theory' is about the unconscious tendencies of men and women, and is believed to be closely related to the differences in consciousness between the two genders.
It starts from the very common-sense distinction that men and women are different.
However, as the consciousness is different, the influence of the unconscious is different.
--- p.123

When a man's mother has a negative influence on him, his anima often manifests itself as depression, irritability and mood swings, bitterness, anxiety, sensitivity, and extreme caution that prevents him from fully establishing himself in life.
This anima feeling can also cause fear of illness and incompetence.
When the anima is in an undifferentiated state, he appears rational but displays immature outbursts of primitive emotions.
In normal times, this sexual man's sudden outbursts of anger indicate that he is possessed by a negative anima.
--- p.146

Humanity really likes blue.
According to data from a survey conducted by a design firm in California, USA, based on responses from 6,300 people from 150 countries, blue was the most preferred color among Europeans, including Americans.
In most of the papers by Professor Labrecque of the University of Rhode Island, who studies color in the field of marketing, blue always ranked first in the subjects' color preference.
Also, in 1993, crayon manufacturer Crayola conducted a survey of American children to determine their favorite crayon color, and most children chose blue, with navy and sky blue also ranking in the top 10.
The same survey was repeated seven years later, and traditional blue once again took first place.
--- p.169

Humans perceive green as a peaceful and protective color.
Green is also a color that soothes humans on a primal, instinctive level, because if there is enough green space in an area, it means there is water, and if there is water, it means there is a possibility of food.
But green is also a powerful symbol of toxicity, jealousy, and beginners.
--- p.192

AI is too perfect and precise.
What is most important is that there is no 'self' in the pictures drawn by robots.
Of course, for the average viewer, it may not be easy to distinguish between paintings drawn by robots and paintings drawn by humans.
But what is certain is that the robot could not possibly have experienced the feeling of 'standing there' while drawing.
The result may be aesthetically pleasing, but it lacks the creator's struggles, intentions, and most importantly, self.
--- p.224

There was a duality in Dali's growth process.
In contrast to his strict father, who was a notary public, his mother nurtured Dali's artistic talent and creativity.
But sadly, his mother passed away when Dali was only sixteen, an event that had a profound impact on his life and art.

--- p.243