Wall-eye may have helped Rembrandt’s vision

BOSTON (Reuters) – Rembrandt, the 17th-century Dutch master known for his skill in using light to carry perspective, may have been wall-eyed, a U.S. researcher has proposed.

An analysis of 36 self-portraits of the great painter suggest he had a strabismus — a misalignment of one eye that caused it to point slightly outward.

This condition, popularly known as wall-eye, may have given Rembrandt van Rijn an advantage in translating three-dimensional scenes into two-dimensional paintings, said Margaret Livingstone, a Harvard Medical School (news – web sites) neurobiologist.

“It illustrates that disabilities are not always disabilities. They may be assets in another realm,” Livingstone said in an interview on Wednesday.

It’s like those group of Africans that have an abnormality in their red blood cells called sickle cell anemia. This condition causes the red blood cells of a sufferer to be shaped like sickles, instead of the normal rounded shape. Although this condition can cause excruciating pain when the “sickle cells” become stuck in capillaries, there is a plus-side to this.

Somtimes the trait appears in a recessive state, that is, they carry the trait, but there are not enough sickle cells to cause symptoms. These people are known as “carriers.” Sickle cells interfere with the growth of the parasite that causes malaria.

So there you have it. Not all “disabilities” are really “disabilities;” some traits may turn out to be beneficial to the carrier.

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