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Professor Jean Vinchon, formerly Chief of the Faculties of Psychiatry and Neurology, belongs to the group of French psychiatrists who, like the late Prinzhorn in Germany, have long been intrigued by the æsthetic elements in psychotic art. The best known of his previous books is probably L'Art et la folie.
The title of this volume, The Magic of Drawing, as Professor Vinchon explains, refers to what he believes is the healing quality of the projection of 'interior imagery'. The author not only affirms his view of the importance and value of such spontaneous drawings released from the unconscious but he also explains why he considers such art an aid in psychotherapy. 'Drawing', he writes, 'will help the patient to express what he is unable to say, to the extent that he is frequently astonished at his productions'. And again he states, 'This form of psychotherapy can be applied to all subjects, artists or nonartists, who may have a latent gift'. He also elaborates his belief in spontaneous drawings when he adds that 'the utilization of interior images simplifies psychotherapy in helping to complete it'.
A careful reading of this book shows that Dr. Vinchon has, whenever