Abstract

This article considers whether re-focusing on Hans Prinzhorn’s text “Artistry of the Mentally Ill” (1922) could improve the inconsistencies within the Outsider Art genre. This article is a historical analysis of Prinzhorn’s research and discusses five reoccurring categories that emerge during the production of pictorial configuration. This study has two aims: to consider the relevance of Prinzhorn’s research in categorizing and understanding reoccurring themes and styles that emerge spontaneously during the production of pictorial configuration, and to establish whether mental illness or marginalization is necessary for the authentic style promoted by the Outsider Art genre. This historical analysis is considered alongside analytical psychology with fine art examples from the twentieth and twenty-first centuries.