Dark Side of Genius:: The Melancholic Persona in Art, ca. 1500-1700In The Dark Side of Genius, Laurinda Dixon examines melancholia as a philosophical, medical, and social phenomenon in early modern art. Once considered to have a physical and psychic disorder, the melancholic combined positive aspects of genius and breeding with the negative qualities of depression and obsession. By focusing on four exemplary archetypesthe hermit, lover, scholar, and artistthis study reveals that, despite advances in art and science,