does anyone know anything about the painter Van gough cutting his ear off for alover?

Answer 1

In 1888 van Gogh left Paris for southern France, where, under the burning sun of Provence, he painted scenes of the fields, cypress trees, peasants, and rustic life characteristic of the region. During this period, living at Arles, he began to use the swirling brush strokes and intense yellows, greens, and blues associated with such typical works as Bedroom at Arles (1888, Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh), and Starry Night (1889, Museum of Modern Art, New York City). For van Gogh all visible phenomena, whether he painted or drew them, seemed to be endowed with a physical and spiritual vitality. In his enthusiasm he induced the painter Paul Gauguin, whom he had met earlier in Paris, to join him. After less than two months they began to have violent disagreements, culminating in a quarrel in which van Gogh wildly threatened Gauguin with a razor; the same night, in deep remorse, van Gogh cut off part of his own ear. For a time he was in a hospital at Arles. He then spent a year in the nearby asylum of Saint-Rémy, working between repeated spells of madness. Under the care of a sympathetic doctor, whose portrait he painted (Dr. Gachet, 1890, Musée du Louvre, Paris), van Gogh spent three months at Auvers. Just after completing his ominous Crows in the Wheatfields (1890, Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh), he shot himself on July 27, 1890, and died two days later. The more than 700 letters that van Gogh wrote to his brother Théo (published 1911, translated 1958) constitute a remarkably illuminating record of the life of an artist and a thorough documentation of his unusually fertile output—about 750 paintings and 1600 drawings. The French painter Chaim Soutine, and the German painters Oskar Kokoschka, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, and Emil Nolde, owe more to van Gogh than to any other single source. In 1973 the Rijksmuseum Vincent van Gogh, containing over 1000 paintings, sketches, and letters, was opened in Amsterdam.

Answer 2

It's true that Vincent cut off only a small part of his ear lobe, and that this was following an argument with Gauguin. From the book, "Creativity and Madness" by Barry M. Panter, M.D., et al:

"Not surprisingly, they [Gauguin and van Gogh] began to quarrel. The disagreement of these two emotionaly volatile men reached an apex on the evening of December 23rd, 1888. Gauguin stormed out of the house in which they were having dinner and discussing art, into the snow outside. Vincent followed with a knife in his hand. Gauguin heard the footsteps behind him, turned, and stared at the enraged van Gogh. Their eyes locked for a moment, Vincent turned back, went upstairs to his room, and cut off a portion of his left ear. This was the displacement of his anger toward Gauguin to himself, and another self-multilation or displaced castration of himself. He put the portion of his ear into a box, took it to Rachel, a prostitute he knew in Arles, and then passed out. Taking the ear to Rachel probably expressed his wish to escape from the unbeatable father, represented by Gauguin, and to be comforted by the mother."

This is really the short answer. To learn more about Vincent's tortured life (which began in the earliest stages of his childhood)--a life that would lead him to this eventual act of self-induced violence--I'd highly recommend reading the book. It's very enlightening, and includes the psychological studies of a number of well known artists, musicians, and writers.

Answer 3

What I read was that he cut his ear because he was mentally unstable. After a fight with painter Paul Gaughin,who was living with him at the time, he just went nuts and did it. But those two weren't lovers. You could look it up in wikipedia or something.

Answer 4

he only cut off a very small bit of his lower ear, the size of your pinky finger nail if not smaller.

my theory of the story is that they both argued over the prostitute that van gong was fond of as he saw her once a fortnight and possible felt that he needed to come in terms with god, possible an act out of rage! he was a priest you know! rejected from the church

Answer 5

yes, I also think that he had a fight with Gaugenne about a woman (prostitute) and then he cut his ear. Then he sent it to the woman. Van Gogh was unfortunately mentaly ill, treated in hospitals more than once, and it also brought him to death.
hope this helps. :-)

Answer 6

We tend to have this romantic notion of the artist in angst. Artists like everybody have depressions and other forms of illness. Regardless, if you agree with the romantic notion (get Don McLean's song "Vincent"), or with the notion that illness\drugs brought him to do it - it does not invalidate the his amazing work.

Answer 7

he cut of the ear because he was mentally ill through contracting syphillis from a previous encounter. LF

Answer 8

sorry to spoil the Romanticism...but he was high on ABSINTHE....sorry man. No lover. He was seeing stuff, so he cut off his ear.

Answer 9

i dont think so he sufferd from a phycological problem