Why did Van Gough cut his ear off?

Answer 1

He was worried that his friend Gauguin was going to leave him after painting with him for a bit, he got a bit tense about the whole affair and in a strange move cut of the bottom part of his ear (not his whole ear) and gave it to a prostitute - telling her to keep it safe - as you do.

Answer 2

he didnt cut off his whole ear just a part of it probably the lobe and maybe a little more with a diagonal cut possibly because of his mental illness which remains highly speculative some common theories are:

schizophrenia
bipolar disease
syphillis
temperal lobe epilepsy

Any of these could have been the culprit and been aggravated by malnutrition, overwork, a fondness for the alcoholic beverage absinthe, and insomnia.

In the November 2005 issue of Archives of Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, Paul L. Wolf, M.D., presented his analysis of how disease, drugs, and chemicals might have influenced the retinal vision of Van Gogh. Wolf speculates that the Yellow Color Vision defect in Van Gogh developed as a side effect of his love of a type of liquor known as absinthe, containing a neurotoxin called thujone found in wormwood oil.

Another recently proposed illness is lead poisoning. The paints used at the time were lead-based, and one of the symptoms of lead poisoning is a swelling of the retinas which would have caused the halo effect seen in many of Van Gogh's works.[56]

Wilkipedia

Answer 3

Vincent Van Gogh was thought to have been a sufferer of Bi Polar Effective disorder, or Manic Depression as it was know until recently. Manic Depression causes extreme swings of feelings and mood which go beyond reasonable and usual expectations. The illness may cause excessive elation, cheerfulness or a mania of despair which sometimes causes dis inhibited (careless and unselfconscious) behaviour. Sometimes violent or extravagant acts are perpetrated. It is generally accepted that Van gogh was a genius; that is a person of exceptional artistic ability. Persons with unusually imaginative abilities are often sufferers of Manic Depression, due to the need to respond to constant and vivid ideas; and images. The two indeed are often linked. The situation in which Van Gogh cut off his ear involved his friend Gaugin rejecting his friendship; and jealousy over a prostitute.

Answer 4

Van Gogh left Paris in February 1888 for Arles, in southeastern France. The pictures he created over the following 12 months-depicting blossoming fruit trees, views of the town and surroundings, self-portraits, portraits of Roulin the postman and other friends, interiors and exteriors of the house, sunflowers, and landscapes-marked his first great period. Gauguin arrived in October 1888, and for two months he and van Gogh worked together; but, while each influenced the other to some extent, their relations rapidly deteriorated. On Christmas Eve 1888, physically and emotionally exhausted, van Gogh snapped under the strain; after arguing with Gauguin, he cut off the lower half of his own left ear. At the end of April 1889, van Gogh entered an asylum but continued to paint; during his 12-month stay he completed 150 paintings and drawings. A move to Auvers-sur-Oise in 1890 was followed by another burst of activity, but he soon suffered a relapse and died that July of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Gauguin who, also, suffered from depression and once attempted suicide left for Tahiti in 1891 where he remained for much of the remainder of his life. He returned to France only once. In 1903 he died of the combined ravages of syphilis and alcohol.

Answer 5

Van Gough was mentally ill. Fact. He cut off his left ear to send to his girlfriend. Strange but true. To express his love for her.

Answer 6

You can trust me, I teach Art and Design and did my Art School dissertation on Vincent van Gogh.
The truth is that he was a very unstable person and cut off his earlobe as an exaggerated gesture of regret after weilding a knife at Gauguin.
He then sent the bit of ear to a local prostitute.
These are the only and exact details.

Answer 7

Vincent Van Gogh suffered from several inbalances such as depression and a disease called "Vertigo" which would cause a very loud and annoying ringing sound in his ear. Vincent became very depressed and bothered after he fell in love with a prostitute and eventually decided to cut his ear off and give it to her. Van Gogh had alot of chemical imbalances due to the harmful fumes of the paints and using his cups as both brush washers and for drinking, this did not help to his insanity

Answer 8

a clean study shows fellow artist Paul Gauguin nipped it with a sword after a falling out. The London "Telegraph" comments German paintings historians have pieced mutually a clean theory of the famed Dutch artist's severed extremity. The everyday tale is that a deranged Van Gogh sliced it off with a razor in December 1888, wrapped it in fabric and gave it to a prostitute. a clean e book with suggestions from 2 paintings specialists in Hamburg, Germany, argues that Van Gogh concocted the tale to conceal up for his chum Gauguin. Authors Hans Kaufman and Rita Wildegans say both mythical painters were staying mutually at Van Gogh's homestead in southwestern France. An unhappy Gauguin walked out such as his bags and his epee, a spread of sword. both quarreled for the time of city until eventually someplace around the brothel, Gauguin finally misplaced it and took off Van Gogh's ear with a flick of his wrist. or perhaps it develop into self-protection. The paintings specialists are not optimistic, considering that they're confident both adult males entered a %. of silence about the incident. Kaufman and Wildegans equipped their theory round a number of Van Gogh's letters that drop some cryptic tricks and made allusions to swordplay. of their e book, "Van Gogh's Ear: Paul Gauguin and the %. of Silence" they insist the falling out delivered about Van Gogh's very last destroy with sanity and his suicide 2 years later.

Answer 9

Van Gogh was bi-polar (Manic-Depressive) and struggled with bouts of rage and elation. He cut his ear off in frustration. Success did not come to him in life, nor did recognition of his talent. His talent has made fortunes for people who have sold his paintings after his death. A great collection of his work resides in Musee' de Orsay, Paris. He died in Auvers sur Oise, outside of Paris and is buried with his brother Theo in a modest grave marked by two headstones, ivy and Marigolds. The Church at Auvers is just down the road from the Country Cemetary.

Answer 10

I've heard two theories:

1) He was painting a self- portrait and wanted to know what his ear looked like, so he cut it off so he could paint it precisely.

2) His partner had just left him, so he cut off his ear and sent it to her (as revenge or something)

Frankly I think the first one is just rubbish, but it's something that I heard so I thought I'd put it anyway. It's probably something to do with depression.