Painter with one ear

On the 23rd of Decemberin a small house in Arles in the South of France, one of the most famous artists painter with one ear all time — Vincent Van Gogh — feverishly cut off his own ear in a mysterious act of self-mutilation. Van Gogh moved to the 'Yellow House' in Arles to paint in His painting The Bedroom was made whilst there.

Adventures with Van Gogh is a weekly blog by Martin Bailey, our long-standing correspondent and expert on the artist. Published every Friday, his stories range from newsy items about this most intriguing artist to scholarly pieces based on his own meticulous investigations and discoveries. Following a confrontation with his colleague Paul Gauguin, Vincent slashed his ear and then walked to a nearby brothel, where he presented the wrapped morsel of flesh to a woman. And how vital is this to the Van Gogh biographical story? Whether it was the whole ear or part of it is arguably not of fundamental importance, since the main point is that Van Gogh was in such a disturbed state that he severely mutilated himself.

Painter with one ear

In this self-portrait, Van Gogh is shown wearing a blue cap with black fur and a green overcoat, with a bandage covering his ear and extending under his chin. He is in a traditional three-quarter view, and his forward gaze falls slightly to the right, out of the frame. Behind him is an open window, assumedly letting in a winter breeze, a canvas on an easel, with a few indistinguishable marks, as well as a Japanese woodblock print. This woodblock print has been identified as a Geishas in a Landscape published by Sato Tokyo in the s. This creates a texture, which comes up off the canvas and adds dimension to the flat surface. The skin tone is muted with green and yellowish tones. The bandage covering Van Gogh's ear in this painting alludes to his most famous conflict. Van Gogh used a mirror for his self-portraits which is why some mistakenly think that he lost part of his right ear instead of his left. Van Gogh moved from Paris to Arles in hopes of creating a community for artists to exist in mutual supportiveness and encouragement. He invited Paul Gauguin , an artist whom he had befriended in Paris, to come stay with him. They proved to be a disagreeable pair and quarreled often, sometimes violently. The evening of December 23, during one of their arguments, Van Gogh had a seizure during which he threatened Gauguin with a razor, but then injured himself, severing part of his left ear. When Gauguin returned the following morning he discovered that the police had arrived at the house, and blood was splattered in every room. Van Gogh had severed an artery in his neck, and was in grave health after losing so much blood.

Virgie Hoban November 26, You can opt out at any time. Dig deeper

On December 23, , Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, suffering from severe depression, cuts off the lower part of his left ear with a razor while staying in Arles, France. He later documented the event in a painting titled Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear. Today, Van Gogh is regarded as an artistic genius and his masterpieces sell for record-breaking prices; however, during his lifetime, he was a poster boy for tortured starving artists and sold only one painting. Vincent Willem van Gogh was born on March 30, , in the Netherlands. He had a difficult, nervous personality and worked unsuccessfully at an art gallery and then as a preacher among poor miners in Belgium.

Vincent van Gogh's fame may owe as much to a legendary act of self-harm, as it does to his self-portraits. But, years after his death, the tortured post-Impressionist's bloody ear is at the centre of a new controversy, after two historians suggested that the painter did not hack off his own lobe but was attacked by his friend, the French artist Paul Gauguin. According to official versions, the disturbed Dutch painter cut off his ear with a razor after a row with Gauguin in Bleeding heavily, Van Gogh then walked to a brothel and presented the severed ear to an astonished prostitute called Rachel before going home to sleep in a blood-drenched bed. But two German art historians, who have spent 10 years reviewing the police investigations, witness accounts and the artists' letters, argue that Gauguin, a fencing ace, most likely sliced off the ear with his sword during a fight, and the two artists agreed to hush up the truth. In Van Gogh's Ear: Paul Gauguin and the Pact of Silence, published in Germany, Hamburg-based academics Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegans argue that the official version of events, based largely on Gauguin's accounts, contain inconsistencies and that both artists hinted that the truth was more complex. Van Gogh and Gauguin's troubled friendship was legendary. In , Van Gogh persuaded him to come to Arles in the south of France to live with him in the Yellow House he had set up as a "studio of the south". They spent the autumn painting together before things soured. Just before Christmas, they fell out.

Painter with one ear

On the 23rd of December , in a small house in Arles in the South of France, one of the most famous artists of all time — Vincent Van Gogh — feverishly cut off his own ear in a mysterious act of self-mutilation. Van Gogh moved to the 'Yellow House' in Arles to paint in His painting The Bedroom was made whilst there.

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He had a difficult, nervous personality and worked unsuccessfully at an art gallery and then as a preacher among poor miners in Belgium. When Gauguin returned the following morning he discovered that the police had arrived at the house, and blood was splattered in every room. Toggle limited content width. During his tenure at the Yellow House, Van Gogh experienced a marked period of feverish intensity and produced a prolific amount of art, which tested his creative limits. Eagerly anticipating his impending visit, in this letter to his friend Van Gogh promised that, en route from Pont-Aven to Arles, Gauguin would see "miles and miles of countryside of different kinds with autumn splendors. Van Gogh Self Portrait. But in self-portraits, van Gogh painted himself with his head covered in wrappings. Today, Van Gogh is regarded as an artistic genius and his masterpieces sell for record-breaking prices; however, during his lifetime, he was a poster boy for tortured starving artists and sold only one painting. A interview with the art historian Max Braumann and the artist Julius Seyler hardly inspires confidence. Van Gogh had severed an artery in his neck, and was in grave health after losing so much blood. Vincent Van Gogh's legacy is more than his considerable influence on the direction of Western art. Van Gogh's friend and fellow painter, Paul Gauguin planned to visit in October.

Vincent Van Gogh's legacy is more than his considerable influence on the direction of Western art. It extends beyond his visionary Post-Impressionistic collection of paintings.

Whether it was the whole ear or part of it is arguably not of fundamental importance, since the main point is that Van Gogh was in such a disturbed state that he severely mutilated himself. And in his letters, van Gogh describes spending weeks in the hospital recovering from fever and infection. He wrapped the wound and delivered the appendage to a maid at the town brothel. Virgie Hoban November 26, He invited Paul Gauguin , an artist whom he had befriended in Paris, to come stay with him. And how vital is this to the Van Gogh biographical story? But in self-portraits, van Gogh painted himself with his head covered in wrappings. Toggle limited content width. In , he decided to become an artist. Sign up now to learn about This Day in History straight from your inbox. In this self-portrait, Van Gogh is shown wearing a blue cap with black fur and a green overcoat, with a bandage covering his ear and extending under his chin.