John Dowland (1563 - 1626) was an English lutenist and composer. He is well known for his melancholic songs. The melancholia was so fashionable in the early 17th century, and his masterpiece, “Lachrimae Antiquae” was the most popular English song at that time.
I have mixed feelings about the relationship between the melancholy and the art. Although the melancholia might stir up a creative power, the art which reflects the melancholia itself (or the melancholic art) is prone to be vulgar. (… Does a melancholic person make a melancholic art?) But anyway, I need it right now.
