I've theorized over the years that noticeable surges in artistic production in localized populations, and generally speaking, periods involving profound human achievement and advancement over baffling and seemingly impossible short time periods, might very well often have chemical origins. If you're the type who favors analogy, think of the undeniable prevalence of performance enhancing drugs in professional sports, for example.

I've seen academics suggesting that the Enlightenment was a direct result of an artistic community in Europe being introduced to coffee, which is actually a pretty believable suggestion considering someone like Voltaire was known to have consumed up to seventy cups of coffee a day. In the mid to late 19th century, one could simply walk into a chemist's place of business and find themselves free to access substances without restriction of the likes of cocaine and laudanum. During the Second World War, both Allied and Axis troops unquestionably used amphetamines due to their performance enhancing qualities. Paul Erdős, a man considered to be one of the most prolific mathematicians of the 20th century publicly is known to have taken conservative and regulated dosages of amphetamines daily, comparable to what's seen in modern add treatments. I'm sure no one needs help being pointed towards citations anxious to discuss Freud's use of cocaine...

Let's not forget, of course, the origins of my own moniker... Sartre, from what I recall reading, took up to 200 mg of amphetamines a day in combination with dosages exceeding ten grams of aspirin... Alongside up to two packs of cigarettes, a quart of booze, constant pipe tobacco, and readily available barbiturates. Again, casually, as a daily regimen. Keep this in mind next time you might contemplate the notion of the absurd.