The Eyes of Johann Sebastian Bach
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SPECIAL ARTICLE The Eyes of Johann Sebastian Bach Richard H. C. Zegers, MD ohann Sebastian Bach’s only physical problem seems to have been his vision. Myopia seems most likely, and it is probable that he developed cataracts at an older age. In addition to the cataracts, his worsening vision may have been due in part to some other eye problem. Dur- ing the last year of his life, Bach’s vision became so poor that he decided to have his eyes J operated on. Two operations were performed in 1750 by the traveling English eye surgeon John Taylor. Most likely the first operation was Taylor’s standard couching procedure. About 1 week after the first operation, Bach had to be operated on again because of a reappearance of the cataract. Many painful and/or vision-reducing complications could have been induced by these intraocular operations: uveitis or endophthalmitis, secondary glaucoma, hemorrhage, retinal de- tachment, and even sympathetic ophthalmia. Bach was “completely blind” after the operations, and he died less than 4 months after the final operation. Arch Ophthalmol. 2005;123:1427-1430 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) is in Bach’s home; both had worked since probably the most famous composer of all 1747 as musicians in Potsdam. Forkel time, and his music is still the gold stan- relied heavily on the Nekrolog in writing dard for many practicing musicians as his biography but also interviewed well as for listeners of classical music. Un- many persons who had known Bach, fortunately, an unknown but substantial including Bach’s sons Carl Philipp amount of his work is lost. The same ap- Emanuel and Wilhelm Friedemann. All plies to information about Bach’s private later biographies of Bach are based on life. In contrast to Wolfgang Amadeus these works. Mozart, for example, who had a vivid and Furthermore, only one portrait of Bach abundant correspondence with his fam- is undoubtedly authentic. The portrait ily members, only a few of Bach’s letters commissioned by Bach and painted by have survived. Elias Gottlob Haussmann (1695-1774), Two biographies have been written by dated 1746, shows Bach holding his trade- persons who knew Bach, or who inter- mark: a triple canon for 6 voices (BWV viewed people who had known him per- 1076) as proof of his highly developed 1,2 sonally. Bach’s biographies are Nekro- skills as a composer. Bach’s second wife, log auf Johann Sebastian Bach (1754), by Anna Magdalena, considered the portrait Bach’s eldest son, Carl Philipp Emanuel, a good likeness. Unfortunately, when the in collaboration with a former pupil of 1 painting underwent major restoration in Bach’s, Friedrich Agricola ; and Ueber Jo- 1913, the details of the portrait were al- hann Sebastian Bachs Leben, Kunst und tered considerably.3 In 1950, a studio copy Kunstwerke (1802), by Johann Nikolaus 2 of the original portrait was discovered in the Forkel. The writers of the Nekrolog did United States, also by Haussmann, signed not themselves witness much of the last and dated 1748 (Figure 1). This copy gives years of Bach’s life. They no longer lived a rough idea of Bach’s appearance. Author Affiliations: Department of Ophthalmology, Academic Medical Centre, Dubious resources of uncertain authen- University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, the Netherlands. ticity are interesting but not reliable. For Financial Disclosure: None. example, a skeleton alleged to be Bach’s (REPRINTED) ARCH OPHTHALMOL / VOL 123, OCT 2005 WWW.ARCHOPHTHALMOL.COM 1427 ©2005 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. Downloaded From: https://jamanetwork.com/ on 10/01/2021 the bridge of the nose as well as BACH IN HIS OLD AGE the narrowed eyes, the result of myopia.”7(p1797) The word myopia is It seems that in general Bach was in derived from Greek and means good health, except in his final year. “squeezing.” However, other refrac- Considering the amazing amount of tive errors such as hyperopia and music he wrote, the almost continu- astigmatism can also cause narrow- ous demand for performances, the ing of the eyelids. care of the 20 children he had with Myopia is generally preferable to his 2 successive spouses, his con- hyperopia, since myopic people have cern for numerous students who adequate near vision. For a musi- lived in his house, and the vigor- cian who has not yet matured and is ous appearance of Bach in his 61st still mastering his art by extensive year in the Haussmann painting, it note reading and writing, near vi- is most unlikely that he could have sion is essential. This suggests that suffered any serious or chronic Bach was probably myopic. Hyper- diseases. Furthermore, biographies Figure 1. The 1748 painting of Bach by Elias opia or astigmatism would have been explicitly mention Bach’s strength Gottlob Haussmann (courtesy of William H. much less compatible with his daily and healthy constitution: seinen Scheide, Princeton, NJ).4 activities. Furthermore, Bach was at übrigen noch sehr muntern Seelen— risk for myopia; as he was a scholas- und Leibeskräften (his lively soul— tic success (one of the best students and body strengths).1 in his school, and he even skipped a The only known period of sick- year), he performed a lot of near work ness occurred between 1730 and and he read considerably.8 1740, when Bach had to cancel a Figure 2. Detail of the eyes of Bach according to Bach’s myopia can only have been journey to Halle, Germany, to meet Haussmann, 1748 (courtesy of William H. moderate. With a refractive error of George Frideric Handel, a contem- Scheide, Princeton, NJ).4 −2 D, his far point would have been porary composer who was also born 50 cm. A higher refractive error of, in 1685.1 Nothing is known about was found in 1894 and examined by for example, −5 D would have given the nature and duration of this ill- Wilhelm His, professor of anatomy Bach difficulty playing the church ness. Additional information about at the University of Leipzig, Leipzig, organ, his favorite instrument. He Bach’s physical appearance is given Germany, and father of Wilhelm His, used both feet for playing the ped- by the Haussmann portrait, which Jr, who discovered the atrioventric- als of the church organ, and this re- shows that Bach was obese. ular muscle bundle in the heart that quired leaning back on the seat to Another striking feature is his is named after him, the bundle of free the legs for this action. Bend- narrowed eyelids (Figure 2). A His.5 Another example is the pair of ing forward to read a music score at closer look seems to give the im- reading glasses (ϩ2.5 diopters [D] the church organ while also using pression of dermatochalasis; this has sphere and −0.5 D cylinder; the axis both hands at the keyboard calls for no serious clinical implications ex- cannot be given as the lenses are at least one foot on the ground to cept that it can sometimes restrict the freely movable within their frame) maintain balance; the greater the re- superior visual field. that supposedly belonged to Bach, fractive error, the worse this prob- According to his contemporary but these also can never be proven lem would become. Recognizing biographies, Bach’s eyesight dete- to have been in his possession.6 faces on the street certainly would riorated as he aged. There are many This article comments on the have been a problem for a moder- possible explanations for this, with ophthalmologic aspects of Johann ately myopic individual in the era cataract being the most logical. There Sebastian Bach, as viewed by a pres- before spectacle correction. Spec- are no clues suggesting or exclud- ent-day ophthalmologist. tacles could have solved this prob- ing other diseases, such as glau- lem, but the use of spectacles for any- coma or age-related macular degen- THE YOUNG BACH thing other than reading was not eration. It seems unlikely that his widespread until a century after vision deteriorated as a result of a se- Bach’s only physical problem seems Bach’s death.9 Biographies do not quela of myopia, because his myo- to have been his vision. His eyes had mention the use of glasses by Bach pia seems to have been only mild. “naturally bad vision” (Sein von at all. Natur blödes Gesicht), and “this was Amblyopia is another theoretic THE OPERATIONS further weakened by a lot of study- possibility, but there is no evidence ing, sometimes even all night long, to support this. Bilateral amblyopia During the last year of his life, Bach’s especially during his youth.”1(p167) from severe hyperopia or astigma- vision became so poor that he de- Myopia has been suggested by tism is also a theoretical possibility, cided, after persuasion by his friends, several authors on the basis of Bach’s but it would have also impaired to have his eyes operated on. Two appearance in the Haussmann near vision. Bilateral amblyopia operations were performed in 1750 painting, which shows “the verti- due to myopia is exceedingly rare, but by the traveling English ophthal- cal furrows running upward from some near vision might be retained. miater “Chevalier” John Taylor (REPRINTED) ARCH OPHTHALMOL / VOL 123, OCT 2005 WWW.ARCHOPHTHALMOL.COM 1428 ©2005 American Medical Association. All rights reserved. Downloaded From: https://jamanetwork.com/ on 10/01/2021 (1703 or 1708-1772), who hap- if this was the healthy one! Even pened to be in Leipzig. physicians in his time, such as Es- Taylor had completed a surgical chenbach, who wrote a whole book training in England; he also at- about Taylor and his operations, tended lectures by Hermann Boer- criticized this approach.13 Taylor’s haave in the Netherlands and learned habit of covering the wounds he the art of couching from Jean Louis made with a bandage was also criti- Petit in France.10 After his training, cized because it increased the risk of Taylor started practicing in Switzer- infection.