Spatial representations, distortions and alterations in the graphic and artistic production of brain-damaged patients and of famous artists

The authors review the drawing disorders that can be observed in patients with brain damage (in particular, those with constructional apraxia and unilateral spatial neglect), the impact of brain damage on the output of professional artists, and the distortions of body image that characterise the work of many great artists, from Rubens to Luclen Freud. These different perspectives share the basic assumption that the graphic and artistic output of patients, normal subjects, and exceptionally gifted individuals may represent a window onto the neural organisation of body image.