Journal Information
Special Article
Available online 2 June 2025
Raoul Dufy: Color and resilience in the fight against rheumatoid arthritis
Raoul Dufy: color y resiliencia en la lucha contra la artritis reumatoide
Fernando Canillas
, Marta Canillas
Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Alfonso X el Sabio, Madrid, Spain
Article information
Abstract
Full Text
Bibliography
Download PDF
Statistics
Figures (2)
Abstract

Raoul Dufy was born in 1877 in the city of Le Havre, France. He showed an early interest in painting and attended the École des Beaux Arts in Paris, where he was influenced by Impressionism and later by Fauvism and Cubism. He achieved a style of his own, marked by colour. His paintings depicted modern life, often with bright colours and energetic scenes of urban and social life. In 1935, he developed severe rheumatoid arthritis, which affected his hands and joints. Despite this, he continued to create art until his death. He underwent numerous medical treatments of the time. In 1950, he was invited to the United States to participate in initial ACTH and cortisone therapies and achieved a significant improvement. He returned to France, but died in 1953 at the age of 76 from an intestinal haemorrhage. His artistic legacy and his strength to face this disease are an inspiration for the future.

Keywords:
Raoul Dufy
Rheumatoid arthritis
Treatment
Art
Resumen

Raoul Dufy nació en 1877 en la ciudad de El Havre, Francia. Mostró un interés temprano en la pintura y asistió a la École des Beaux Arts en París, donde fue influenciado por el impresionismo y luego por el fauvismo y el cubismo. Consiguió un estilo propio marcado por el color. Sus pinturas representaban la vida moderna, a menudo con colores brillantes y escenas enérgicas de la vida urbana y social. En 1935, desarrolló artritis reumatoide severa, que afectó a sus manos y articulaciones. A pesar de esto, continuó creando arte hasta su muerte. Se le aplicaron numerosos tratamientos médicos de la época. En 1950, viajó invitado a Estados Unidos para participar en las terapias iniciales con ACTH y cortisona consiguiendo una importante mejoría. Regresó a Francia, pero falleció en 1953 a la edad de 76 años debido a una hemorragia intestinal. Su legado artístico y su fortaleza para afrontar esta enfermedad son inspiración para el futuro.

Palabras clave:
Raoul Dufy
Artritis reumatoide
Tratamiento
Arte

Article

These are the options to access the full texts of the publication Reumatología Clínica (English Edition)
Member
If you are member of Sociedad Española de Reumatología (SER) or the Colegio Mexicano de Reumatología (CMR):
Please go to the member area of SER or CMR and log in.
Subscriber
Subscriber

If you already have your login data, please click here .

If you have forgotten your password you can you can recover it by clicking here and selecting the option “I have forgotten my password”
Subscribe
Subscribe to

Reumatología Clínica (English Edition)

Purchase
Purchase article

Purchasing article the PDF version will be downloaded

Purchase now
Contact
Phone for subscriptions and reporting of errors
From Monday to Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. (GMT + 1) except for the months of July and August which will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Calls from Spain
932 415 960
Calls from outside Spain
+34 932 415 960
Email
Idiomas
Reumatología Clínica (English Edition)
Article options
Tools
es en

¿Es usted profesional sanitario apto para prescribir o dispensar medicamentos?

Are you a health professional able to prescribe or dispense drugs?