The Eyes and Brain of Johann Sebastian Bach

Biographies of famous individuals in history are often full of myths and mysteries. Bach is no exception to that rule. The shortage of quality medical biographic data about Bach makes the effort of creating a proper pathography that would include his illnesses and their influence on his life almost impossible. Therefore, I read with great interest the article by Zegers¹ that offered a mostly studious overview on Bach's eye problems.

Zegers suggested that Bach had only physical problems with his vision. As Cheng² wrote earlier, sailors talk about wind, farmers talk about weather, and soldiers talk about weapons. Ophthalmologists talk about Bach's eyes. As a stroke neurologist, I would like to consider the possibility of cerebrovascular disease for Bach.

From his temperament, nature, and stature, Bach may have suffered from high blood pressure. Recently, diabetes has been suspected. In his authentic portrait (1746-1748) by Elias Gottlob Haussmann, the oral asymmetry of his lower face is obvious, suggesting a minor or partial central facial palsy probably due to prior (possibly mild) stroke. From the same portrait, his obesity is also obvious. After both failed operations by “Chevalier” John Taylor, Bach was depressed and spending his days in a dark room, only doing some dictation of work he had already composed. In mid July 1750, he had a fatal stroke that was complicated by fever. A couple of hours before he died, it seemed that he could see again (but this could well have been hallucinations). Two famous local doctors tried to help him without success. Bach thus died in the evening on July 28, 1750. His cerebrovascular risk profile included his age, obesity, possible hypertension, and possible diabetes that led to his fatal stroke.

Finally, I want to draw attention to one of history's strange coincidences. Both German Baroque giants, Bach and Handel, were born in 1685 and became blind at the same age. They lived and worked more than 600 miles apart, but they both had eye surgery because of the cataract, had operations performed by the same specialist (Chevalier John Taylor), and had failed operations. The origins of their blindness were probably different (Handel may have had central blindness due to stroke), and that may be an interesting matter for further investigation.

Correspondence: Dr Breitenfeld, Neurology Department, Sestre Milosrdnice University Hospital, Vinogradska 29, Zagreb 10000, Croatia (tomislav.breitenfeld@zg.t-com.hr).

Financial Disclosure: None reported.