Today in History

December 23, 1888

Vincent Van Gogh Cuts Off His Ear

On this day in 1888, Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh, today a renowned artist today but underappreciated during his time, took a razor to his ear in a fit of rage and sliced off his own ear lobe. Van Gogh had been suffering from psychotic episodes and frequent mental breakdowns from severe depression, exasperated by his heavy drinking and neglect to his own physical health.

Some believe that the famous incident was the result of a falling-out with a fellow painter. Van Gogh had recently been visited by fellow Post-Impressionist painter Paul Gauguin, one of his artistic idols, in Arles, France. He desperately sought to be recognized by Gauguin as his creative equal, but after a quarrel between the two artists, Van Gogh threated Gauguin with a razor before turning it on himself.

Afterwards, Van Gogh would go to paint multiple self-portraits with his head bandaged, such as Self-portrait with Bandaged Ear and Self-portrait with Bandaged Ear and Pipe, both created in 1889.

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