Salvador Dali sublimates his madness without ever falling into it. Antonin Artaud, confronted with childhood traumas, oscillates all his life between an overflowing creation and accesses of madness. Niki de Saint Phalle, thanks to the artistic expression, looks after itself of a deep depression bound to the trauma of the incest. Vincent Van Gogh, to reach the top of his art, puts himself in danger until he tips over into suicide. Camille Claudel exhausts herself in her creation to finish interned without ever creating again...Based on the life and work of a dozen genius artists, Thierry Delcourt tries to understand the passages between the summits of creation and the abyss of the artist. Why do some people fall into madness while others go through life without a hitch? Why do some sick people find healing by creating? Why the obsessive need of many artists to create relentlessly?To these questions that fascinate, The Madness of the Artist brings striking answers on the creation at the edge of the abyss.