Van Gogh May Not Have Cut His Own Ear Off

The story of Vincent Van Gogh's life is the stuff of art history legend. A troubled Dutch painter who never sold a painting (to a non-family member) in his lifetime, Van Gogh is the poster child for troubled artists everywhere. Perhaps nothing, though, is more famous about the man behind the art than the story of him cutting off his own ear. That, however, may only be legend.

People have long sought to explain why Van Gogh would maim himself in what was supposedly a sign of love for a woman. A popular theory postulated that, since he mixed his lead-based paints in the same pots he used to cook with, that is was possible the lead he may have consumed poisoned his brain and drove him mad. Another said that he cut the ear off in a sort of seizure. One of the only certainties about the whole episode was that it had to do with a fight he had with fellow artist, Paul Gaugin.

According to legend, Van Gogh was having yet another large fight with his friend, fellow post-Impressionist artist Paul Gaugin. In a fit of rage at what he feared would be his desertion, Van Gogh took a razor and sliced off his left earlobe. He then walked to a brothel, presented the ear to a prostitute named Rachel. After instructing her to, "Keep this object carefully," he rambled home and went to sleep. This is the legend, and it is according to accounts by Paul Gaugin. According to two art historians, though, this history may have been, as it is said, rewritten by the winner of said altercation.

Two German art historians, Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegans, have spent 10 years studying the accounts of this night. The conclusion they have come to, and published in Van Gogh's Ear: Paul Gauguin and the Pact of Silence, is that the most likely explanation for Van Gogh's missing ear is an errant epee.

Paul Gaugin, a future art legend in his own right, was known as a fencing ace. Troubled and tempermental, he is perhaps best known for abandoning his family and moving to Tahiti. Until now. According to these two historians, who have reviewed both artists' account of the night, as well as police reports and witness statements, Gaugin can add another bit of infamy to his resume: Ear-slicer.

Of course, no one knows for certain what happened that night. The only thing certain is that talent clearly transcends ethics and reason.