Perhaps the most widely known case is that of Van Gogh's severed ear. Of course, this act in itself is not so unique, but the very fact that the famous artist did it, and the mystery that shrouds this incident, still did their job. Now, even the most incurious reader, picking up a book about Van Gogh, will definitely try to find some information about this case.

A small house in the province, or bouts of depression

In 1888, Vincent van Gogh rented a small house in a small southern French town called Arles. There, the Dutch painter, suffering from bouts of depression, experienced periods of madness and torment of creativity. Here he painted several scenes of the French countryside and the famous series of paintings "Sunflowers".

Exhausted by despair and loneliness, Van Gogh hoped for new acquaintances with creative personalities who would provide him with communication, and, perhaps, help reduce his financial dependence on his younger brother Theo, who always supported Vincent Van Gogh. The lonely artist repeatedly turned to his friend Gauguin with a request to join him. And finally, he heeded his prayers. Thus begins the story of Van Gogh's ear.

Entertainment of two friends, or what two artists argue about

On October 23, Paul Gauguin knocked on the door of Van Gogh's small dwelling. They began to study numerous paintings in art galleries, brightened up their leisure time in local brothels. Their relationship was quite stormy. The two Post-Impressionists argued constantly, ranging from household expenses to the merits of Delacroix or Rembrandt.

Paul Gauguin constantly grumbled about the dirt in the studio. What's more, he threw away all of Vincent van Gogh's bedding. And he immediately sent for his own, which were to be delivered directly from Paris. The small house quickly filled with an atmosphere of tension. Paul became increasingly concerned about the state of Vincent, who periodically kept a thoughtful silence, and at times showed intermittent outbursts of insanity. Gauguin often wrote about this in his letters to Theo van Gogh, his friend's younger brother.

Another fit of madness, or a cry of despair

Finally, two days before Christmas, which Van Gogh, by the way, never liked, Paul told him that he planned to return to Paris. In the evening he went for a walk, when suddenly Vincent overtook him from behind and began to threaten him with a razor. Gauguin reassured his friend, but just in case, he spent the night at a nearby hotel. How could Paul then imagine how this decision would affect further events and Van Gogh's ear. Vincent returned to his deserted house. Alone again...

All his dreams of an eternal stay next to him Paul Gauguin were destroyed. In another fit of madness, the artist took a razor, pulled back his left earlobe and cut it off. The torn ear artery began to bleed profusely, and Vincent bandaged his head with a damp towel. But the story about Van Gogh's ear does not end there. The artist carefully wrapped it in a newspaper and went to a brothel located next door, where he found an acquaintance of Paul Gauguin. He handed this bundle to her and asked her to keep it carefully. Seeing the contents, the poor woman fainted, and Van Gogh, staggering, went home.

Van Gogh's ear. Photo of a self-portrait with a bandaged head

The alarmed woman decided to report this incident to the police, and the next morning the artist was found unconscious in bed, covered in blood. He was admitted to a local hospital. Vincent van Gogh repeatedly asked a friend to visit him. But Paul Gauguin never came. Hospitalization continued for several weeks, and then Van Gogh returned to his small house. There he continued to write his works and even documented the last violent episode, which readers know as the story of Van Gogh's ear, in the form of a self-portrait with a bandaged head. Manic attacks continued from time to time, and Vincent van Gogh spent most of the next year in the psychiatric clinic of Saint-Rémy. But the treatment did not save the shattered psyche of the famous artist, and on July 27, 1890, he shot himself.

The most famous moment in life, or what loneliness brings to

What else can be said about Van Gogh's severed ear? The story, which took place on December 23, 1888, remains the most famous fragment from the life of the famous artist. Most of the narrative of those events was compiled from the words of Paul Gauguin, whom the police initially suspected of committing this act. Until now, among art historians and biographers, there is an opinion that in fact the situation looked somewhat different. Most likely, this story served only as a cover that the two artists came up with to protect Gauguin, who cut off Van Gogh's ear with his fencing sword during another quarrel. Considering how desperately Vincent wanted to keep his friendship with Paul, this version can also be believed.

However, the friends never saw each other again. And this story has forever remained an unsolved mystery, which interested not only contemporaries, but also many today's admirers of the talented artist's work. Moreover, it turns out that there is even a song called Van Gogh's Ear. Kashin Pavel, a famous contemporary performer, apparently tried to convey in it the emotions that Vincent van Gogh experienced at the time of this crazy act.

There are many versions of why Vag Gog cut off his ear, but only he knew the true reason. Perhaps the answer is known to his descendants, who still keep Vincent's personal letters and documents in complete secrecy.

Version number 1. Van Gogh was a genius whose work was not accepted by everyone. Some adored him, others hated him. And, ironically, the person Vincent admired so much did not perceive his paintings and spoke extremely negatively about them. It was Paul Gauguin. Once Van Gogh invited Paul to his place in Arles. Being financially dependent on Vincent's family, Gauguin accepted the invitation.

Unfortunately, the real reason for this behavior is unlikely anyone will know, but the illness of van Gogh apparently, epileptic psychosis - there is clearly played a major role.

After some time, constantly being together, they began to conflict more and more. And one evening, Van Gogh broke loose and crept up to Gauguin with a razor, wanting to kill him, but he noticed him and prevented the assassination attempt. On the same night, Van Gogh cut off his earlobe. For what? Perhaps because of remorse. Historians consider this version highly illogical and put forward the following alleged course of events.

Version number 2. On that ill-fated night, a quarrel really took place between Van Gogh and Gauguin, it came to a sword fight, and Paul accidentally cut off his opponent's left earlobe.

Version number 3. While Van Gogh was shaving, his mind became clouded, and in a fit of a mental attack, he cut off part of his ear himself.

Version number 4. This assumption argues that the marriage of a brother, on whom Van Gogh was highly dependent, became the cause of the nervous breakdown. It is possible that in this way the artist expressed his frustration about this.

Version number 5. Such consequences could be caused by the action of psychotropic drugs, including absinthe. Perhaps, being in an altered state of consciousness, the artist wanted to test whether he could feel pain.

Van Gogh syndrome

In 1966, based on this incident, a mental syndrome was named after a talented madman. This syndrome manifests itself when a person either performs surgery on himself, or asks others about it.

Syndrome of van Gogh "s most likely in schizophrenia, dysmorphophobia, dismorphomania.

A huge number of versions are confusing, but, nevertheless, thanks to the legend, the syndrome has gained the right to exist.

In any case, whichever version you consider fiction, and which one is true, the severed ear has become part of a story that is inextricably linked with one of the most emotional and unpredictable post-impressionist painters of the 19th century.

In the arsenal of psychiatry there is a term - Van Gogh syndrome. They talk about him when a mentally ill person either demands an operation on him, or tries to perform it on himself with his own hands. The name is associated with the name of the famous Dutch artist Vincent van Gogh. This man once cut off his earlobe along with part of the ear. Why could he do it?

The syndrome, named after the great painter, occurs in various mental disorders - dysmorphophobia (pathological dissatisfaction with one's appearance), schizophrenia. In the hospital where Van Gogh was placed after this strange act, he was diagnosed with epilepsy of the temporal lobes.

Modern psychiatrists studying the artist's biography prefer to talk about epileptic or manic-depressive psychosis. In the first case, the disease could be hereditary. People suffering from epilepsy were among the relatives of the painter on the maternal side. In the second case, the cause of the disease could be a passion for absinthe, combined with hard work.

How did it happen?

According to the generally accepted version, Vincent committed an act of violence against himself on December 23, 1888 after a quarrel with Paul Gauguin.

Van Gogh at that time thought about creating the "Workshop of the South" - a brotherhood that would develop a new direction for future generations. At the same time, he pinned great hopes on P. Gauguin. But Gauguin did not share the ideas of Van Gogh, and Vincent could not understand this, and the meetings of the two, initially peaceful, increasingly ended in quarrels. During one of these quarrels, Van Gogh in a rage grabbed a razor and attacked his interlocutor, Gauguin miraculously managed to keep him. Returning home, the artist felt deep remorse that he decided to punish himself in such a terrible way.

Van Gogh didn't cut off his ear

The German scientists G. Kaufman and R. Wildegans believe that the reason for the quarrel between the artists was not a disagreement in art, but a rivalry over a woman.

The cause of the conflict was a certain woman of easy virtue named Rachel. Van Gogh really attacked Gauguin, and he, being a good swordsman, defended himself with a rapier, as a result of which he cut off Vincent's ear.

Subsequently, giving evidence to the police, it was Gauguin who said that Van Gogh had mutilated himself, while Vincent was unable to say anything intelligible.

Paul Gauguin is not to blame

The English researcher M. Bailey came to the conclusion that Van Gogh nevertheless cut off his own ear, but the quarrel with Gauguin was not the reason.

Shortly before this event, Theo, Vincent's brother, sent a letter to his mother, in which he announced his intention to marry, and on December 23, Vincent received money from his brother. Most likely, along with the money came the news of the upcoming marriage of his brother.

How could Van Gogh take this news? Subsequently, Theo mentioned in a letter to the bride that Vincent did not approve of his decision and stated that "marriage should not become the main goal of life." This is not surprising: the brother constantly provided Vincent with support - both financial and moral. The upcoming wedding of his brother meant for Van Gogh that he could soon lose brotherly help.

Perhaps the news of his brother's future marriage turned out to be an unbearable test for the artist's unstable psyche. The result was an attack of insanity and an act of violence against oneself.

Sources:

• A. Perryusho Life of Van Gogh

“Vincent took a straight razor that lay on the edge of the washbasin and opened it. He grabbed the criminal's ear and pulled it as far as possible by the lobe, and then cut off the criminal flesh. The razor missed the upper part of the ear, slipped off about the middle and drove up to the jaw. The skin was easy to cut, but the cartilage was too resilient, and it took tenacity or bestial strength for the flesh between the fingers to finally give way. By this point, the whole arm was already covered in blood.
Stephen Knyfe and Gregory White Smith in Van Gogh. Life"

Let's watch the video:

The famous "Bedroom at Arles". To the left of the window above the dressing table hangs a small mirror. Apparently, it was in front of this mirror that Vincent tried to cut off his ear on the eve of Christmas 1888.

Pictures used in this video:

Self-portrait with bandaged ear and pipe
Vincent Van Gogh
January 1889, 51 × 45 cm

Self-portrait with cut off ear
Vincent Van Gogh
January 1889, 60 × 49 cm

self-portrait
Vincent Van Gogh
September 1889, 65 × 54 cm

self-portrait
Vincent Van Gogh
September 1889, 51 × 45 cm

Portrait of Vincent van Gogh
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec
1887, 57 × 46 cm

Still life with absinthe
Vincent Van Gogh
1887, 46.3 × 33.2 cm

For Vincent, his face, apparently, was an inexhaustible source of ideas and a field for experimentation. The artist painted his first self-portrait only in 1886, and over the next four years he created several dozen more. Often these works are very different from each other, they can be used to trace both the techniques and styles used by Van Gogh and the changes in the state of mind of the author. However, one more sad assumption can be made: Vincent painted so many self-portraits because of the feeling of endless loneliness ...

yellow house
Vincent Van Gogh
September 1888, 91.5 × 72 cm

Night cafe in Arles
Vincent Van Gogh
September 1888, 80.7 × 65 cm

On the threshold of eternity
Vincent Van Gogh
May 1890, 81 × 65 cm

Arena in Arles
Vincent Van Gogh
December 1888, 73 × 92 cm

Armchair Paul Gauguin
Vincent Van Gogh
December 1888, 90.5 × 72.7 cm

Wag Gogh syndrome or his own doctor: why did Van Gogh cut off his ear? A gloomy canvas of life under the bright post-impressionist sunflowers.

Why did Van Gogh cut off his ear?

The eccentric act of the famous post-impressionist painter, Vincent van Gogh, has earned its own name - Van Gogh Syndrome. It manifests itself in the fact that the patient is trying (or has already been able) to operate on himself or insists on a specific operation. The place, and the family of the popular Dutch artist, according to experts, did not affect the onset of mental illness, which is attributed to the author of the famous self-portrait with a cut off ear.

The first symptoms of the disease, according to the governess, described in our previous article, appeared in childhood However, no evidence was found to support her position. Instead, the height of Van Gogh's depression fell on the London period, then smoothly flowed to Paris, the city that crowned the painter with contacts with famous artists. As you know, Van Gogh did not receive recognition during his lifetime. On the contrary, he was considered a peculiar and neurotic person.

Why did Van Gogh cut off his ear?

• According to one version, the artist cut off his earlobe in a hospital for the insane during the next clouding of consciousness. According to the doctors, Van Gogh suffered from insane delirium - delirium.
• According to another lost during a quarrel with his famous friend, patron and mentor, Paul Gauguin, whom they met in Paris. The conflict took place because of a prostitute, with whom both had a connection, although there is no exact data.
• According to the third version, more poetic than real, Van Gogh cut off his ear while drunk- under absinthe, which the artist allegedly complained about, he could not control his extreme states.

True on the edge of a knife - the true story of why Van Gogh cut off his ear

During his violent insanity, Van Gogh was treated in the city of Arles, where he also rented an apartment in a bright yellow house.

• Van Gogh rented a house at 2 Place LaMartin in Arles, France on May 1, 1888.

In this colorful place, Vincent tried to make his own workshop, inviting artists and creating on his own. He wrote about his dream to his brother Theo, as well as most of the things and ideas that disturbed the soul.

The same letter to Brother Theo with a picture of the house at the specified address

One of the rooms was rented by Paul Gauguin- one of the only contemporaries who joined the idea of ​​Van Gogh and settled in Arles. Both outstanding creators lived under the same roof until the first quarrel. Studying Theo's letters, the researchers found confirmation of the spat. One day, Paul left Van Gogh, which provoked our hero to another eccentric act. Vincent felt the ground cracking under his plans - the first, best and most honored guest of the studio left . Having lost self-control, Van Gogh cut off his ear, wrapped it in a scarf and went to a brothel to give the "present" to Gauguin's prostitute. Fainting, panic, long-term treatment and the outcome - suicide. And the yellow house, like Van Gogh's sunflowers, was so bright and harmless, maybe the governess was right?

↓ Read both articles about Van Gogh and write in the comments if you agree with the "urban legends" about the artist's madness or know other reasons why Van Gogh cut off his ear?

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Perhaps the most widely known case is that of Van Gogh's severed ear. Of course, this act in itself is not so unique, but the very fact that he did it and the mystery that shrouds this incident still did their job. Now, even the most inquisitive reader, picking up a book about Van Gogh, will definitely try to find some information about it.

A small house in the province, or bouts of depression

In 1988, Vincent van Gogh rented a small house in a small southern French town called Arles. There the Dutch painter, suffering from bouts of depression, experienced periods of insanity and Here he painted several scenes of the French countryside and the famous series

Exhausted by despair and loneliness, Van Gogh hoped for new acquaintances with creative personalities who would provide him with communication, and, perhaps, help reduce his financial dependence on his younger brother Theo, who always supported Vincent Van Gogh. The lonely artist repeatedly turned to his friend Gauguin with a request to join him. And finally, he heeded his prayers. Thus begins the story of Van Gogh's ear.

Entertainment of two friends, or what two artists argue about

On October 23, Paul Gauguin knocked on the door of Van Gogh's small dwelling. They began to study numerous paintings in art galleries, brightened up their leisure time in local brothels. Their relationship was quite stormy. The two Post-Impressionists argued constantly, ranging from household expenses to the merits of Delacroix or Rembrandt.

Paul Gauguin constantly grumbled about the dirt in the studio. What's more, he threw away all of Vincent van Gogh's bedding. And he immediately sent for his own, which were to be delivered directly from Paris. The small house quickly filled with an atmosphere of tension. Paul became increasingly concerned about the state of Vincent, who periodically kept a thoughtful silence, and at times showed intermittent outbursts of insanity. Gauguin often wrote about this in his letters to his friend's younger brother.

Another fit of madness, or a cry of despair

Finally, two days before Christmas, which Van Gogh, by the way, never liked, Paul told him that he planned to return to Paris. In the evening he went for a walk, when suddenly Vincent overtook him from behind and began to threaten him with a razor. Gauguin reassured his friend, but just in case, he spent the night at a nearby hotel. How could Paul then imagine how this decision would affect further events and Van Gogh's ear.

Vincent returned to his deserted house. Alone again... All his dreams for the eternal stay next to him Paul Gauguin were destroyed. In another fit of madness, the artist took a razor, pulled back his left earlobe and cut it off. The torn ear artery began to bleed profusely, and Vincent bandaged his head with a damp towel. But the story about Van Gogh's ear does not end there. The artist carefully wrapped it in a newspaper and went to a brothel located in the neighborhood, where he found a friend of her, he handed over this bundle and asked her to carefully keep it. Seeing the contents, the poor woman fainted, and Van Gogh, staggering, went home.

Van Gogh's ear. Photo of a self-portrait with a bandaged head

The alarmed woman decided to report this incident to the police, and the next morning the artist was found unconscious in bed, covered in blood. He was admitted to a local hospital. Vincent van Gogh repeatedly asked a friend to visit him. But Paul Gauguin never came. Hospitalization continued for several weeks, and then Van Gogh returned to his small house.

There he continued to write his works and even documented the last violent episode, which readers know as the story of Van Gogh's ear, in the form of a self-portrait with a bandaged head. Manic attacks continued from time to time, and Vincent van Gogh spent most of the next year in the psychiatric clinic of Saint-Rémy. But the treatment did not save the shattered psyche of the famous artist, and on July 27, 1890, he shot himself.

The most famous moment in life, or what loneliness leads to

What else can be said about Van Gogh's severed ear? The story, which took place on December 23, 1888, remains the most famous fragment from the life of the famous artist. Most of the narrative of those events was compiled from the words of Paul Gauguin, whom the police initially suspected of committing this act. Until now, among art historians and biographers, there is an opinion that in fact the situation looked somewhat different.

Most likely, this story served only as a cover that the two artists came up with to protect Gauguin, who cut off Van Gogh's ear with his fencing sword during another quarrel. Considering how desperately Vincent wanted to keep his friendship with Paul, this version can also be believed.

However, the friends never saw each other again. And this story has forever remained an unsolved mystery, which interested not only contemporaries, but also many today's admirers of the talented artist's work. Moreover, it turns out that there is even a song called Van Gogh's Ear. Kashin Pavel, a famous contemporary performer, apparently tried to convey in it the emotions that Vincent van Gogh experienced at the time of this crazy act.