French history myths: Van Gogh cut off his ear to impress a girl
The Dutch painter - a long-time France resident - has become almost as famous for the ear story as for his art, but what really happened?
Myth: Painter Vincent Van Gogh, when living in Arles in southern France, cut off his own ear in order to impress a girl.
Partly due to his self-portrait with bandaged head, the ear story has become one of the best-known things about the impressionist artist, and is often considered a bit of a joke - as in the below anti-social behaviour campaign from local authorities in Paris, showing his portrait with the caption 'when the neighbours want to cut off their own ears because of the noise you're making under their window'.
☀️🥤Cet été, on renforce notre action pour la propreté de #Paris10. Un enjeu qui nous concerne tou-te-s ! Pour nous inciter respecter notre planète, les agents de la propreté, les habitants et nous-mêmes, la Mairie lance une campagne de sensibilisation !🔎 https://t.co/wDh9WG7UPc pic.twitter.com/fNYhnr8zMN
— Mairie du 10e (@Mairie10Paris) July 13, 2022
But in fact, the story is much darker than that.
In 1888, when living in Arles in Provence, Van Gogh really did cut off his own ear.
Medical reports from the local doctor showed that this was a major piece of self-mutilation, the entire ear was removed and Van Gogh nearly died from the ensuing shock and infection.
After he performed the grisly act, he put the ear in a box, went to the town brothel and handed it to a girl, who was so distressed when she saw the contents that she fainted. Newspaper reports from the time claim that she was either a prostitute or a cleaner employed at the town brothel, but there is no evidence that Van Gogh had any particular relationship with her.
So why did he do it?
It's hard to say exactly, but Van Gogh struggled with severe mental health problems for much of his adult life, spent time in an asylum and eventually took his own life at the age of 37.
When the self-mutilation took place he was in a very distressed state as his dream of an artistic commune in Arles was collapsing and he had violently quarrelled with one of his closest friends, the painter Paul Gaugin.
Whatever happened, Van Gogh was a superlative talent whose art continues to echo down the ages, and he deserves to be remembered for that, not as the butt of 'ear' jokes.
This is part of our August series looking at misconceptions about French history.
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Myth: Painter Vincent Van Gogh, when living in Arles in southern France, cut off his own ear in order to impress a girl.
Partly due to his self-portrait with bandaged head, the ear story has become one of the best-known things about the impressionist artist, and is often considered a bit of a joke - as in the below anti-social behaviour campaign from local authorities in Paris, showing his portrait with the caption 'when the neighbours want to cut off their own ears because of the noise you're making under their window'.
☀️🥤Cet été, on renforce notre action pour la propreté de #Paris10. Un enjeu qui nous concerne tou-te-s ! Pour nous inciter respecter notre planète, les agents de la propreté, les habitants et nous-mêmes, la Mairie lance une campagne de sensibilisation !🔎 https://t.co/wDh9WG7UPc pic.twitter.com/fNYhnr8zMN
— Mairie du 10e (@Mairie10Paris) July 13, 2022
But in fact, the story is much darker than that.
In 1888, when living in Arles in Provence, Van Gogh really did cut off his own ear.
Medical reports from the local doctor showed that this was a major piece of self-mutilation, the entire ear was removed and Van Gogh nearly died from the ensuing shock and infection.
After he performed the grisly act, he put the ear in a box, went to the town brothel and handed it to a girl, who was so distressed when she saw the contents that she fainted. Newspaper reports from the time claim that she was either a prostitute or a cleaner employed at the town brothel, but there is no evidence that Van Gogh had any particular relationship with her.
So why did he do it?
It's hard to say exactly, but Van Gogh struggled with severe mental health problems for much of his adult life, spent time in an asylum and eventually took his own life at the age of 37.
When the self-mutilation took place he was in a very distressed state as his dream of an artistic commune in Arles was collapsing and he had violently quarrelled with one of his closest friends, the painter Paul Gaugin.
Whatever happened, Van Gogh was a superlative talent whose art continues to echo down the ages, and he deserves to be remembered for that, not as the butt of 'ear' jokes.
This is part of our August series looking at misconceptions about French history.
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