Van Gogh Actually Lost Ear In Swordfight in a Brothel...

[Cryozombie]

You've probably heard the one about how Vincent van Gogh was such a crazy and unappreciated genius he cut off his own ear. And that's why it's cool you spend all day flogging your body with alcohol and self-pity as you wait for your brilliance to be recognized. Well, it turns out Van Gogh didn't really cut off his own ear, and you're just a drunk. The BBC, which pronounces "Van Gogh" all funny, has the details.

http://www.asylum.com/2009/05/05/van-gogh-lost-ear-in-brothel-sword-fight/?icid=webmail|wbml-aim|dl5|link4|http%3A%2F%2Fwww.asylum.com%2F2009%2F05%2F05%2Fvan-gogh-lost-ear-in-brothel-sword-fight%2F

Supposedly Gauguin chopped it off in a fight...

 

[Carol]

And a counterpoint:

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601088&sid=ahpYdvteX6Ao&refer=home

I don’t believe a word of it. This is not the first time it has been suggested that Gauguin might have been the aggressor in this odd art couple. The psychological motive for the suspicion is, I suspect, that many people don’t like Gauguin, and identify with the suffering Van Gogh. That’s the reverse of the effect the two men had in reality. Quite a few contemporaries liked and admired Gauguin; almost everybody, including his brother Theo when they lived together, found Van Gogh’s company unbearable.

 

[MA-Caver]

I remember the story as Van Gogh was madly in love with some lady and cut his ear off and sent it to her as a means of proving it.

*thinks to rent the Kirk Douglas movie "Lust For Life" to get the facts straight...* ...... NOT!

History is never exactly what it's usually written. :idunno:

 

[Big Don]

A Knife fight is a much cooler story to tell.
I mean, anything is cooler than :"I'm friggin nuts and cut off my ear." but, still...

 

[Sukerkin]

Too true, Don :tup:.

I haven't really looked into the details of this tale as yet, tho' I do recall that there is a degree of contention between which of the stories is the more likely.

We could do with a few more artists with talent and passion these days I reckon.