Vision of the famous: the artist's eye.

This article reviews the possible effects of various acquired or inherited eye disorders on the paintings and sculptures of some of the most famous artists. Were Leonardo da Vinci, Rembrandt, Michelangelo and Monet affected by age-related eye disease which influenced their later works? Was El Greco's oblique elongation of his characters due to astigmatism? Was Constable a colour-defective? Was the Impressionist style of painting due to the myopia and cataract of its leading components? Are van Gogh's yellow and haloed paintings due to the ocular side effects of digitalis toxicity? These questions are discussed and some of the artists' works are shown to illustrate the points.