Was Van Gogh Colorblind?

Van Gogh's "Wheat Field behind Saint
 Paul Hospital with a Reaper" — Top:
 Original / Bottom: Color blind simulation

In a recent essay, Japanese medical scientist and poet, Kazunori Asada, hypothesized that Vincent Van Gogh suffered from colorblindness.

He utilized a device to simulate what Van Gogh's paintings would look like to someone with a moderate lack of receptors for the color red.

Asada writes, “The incongruity of color and roughness of line had quietly disappeared,” the scientist writes. “Each picture had changed into one of brilliance with very delicate lines and shades.”

It's hard to imagine Van Gogh's work being even more beautiful than it already is. It's even harder to imagine it being that way for someone with colorblindness.