Reported by Daily Mail, although according to the description of history, Van Gogh's ear was cut off by himself, actually the person who cut off Van Gogh's ear was Paul Gauguin, the painter who was as famous as Van Gogh. Gauguin was Van Gogh's best friend, but the reason he cut off Van Gogh's ear was about their fight for a prostitute, not about the arts. This new theory is proposed by German historians who have researched it for 10 years.
German historians think the fight between these two people wounded Van Gogh, although Gauguin just wanted to protect himself. There is no objection about the truth that Van Gogh lost his ear in 1888 when these two artists lived together in the south of France.
As we all know, Paul Gauguin often fight with Van Gogh for their different artistic viewpoints. Because Van Gogh thought an artist should draw what he saw, while Gauguin insisted that painting should base on imagination. But this time, they fight for a prostitute named Rachel outside the brothel she worked in.
Self Portrait With Bandaged Ear 1889
Hans Kaufmann, the scholar of Hamburg University says: "Van Gogh once asked Gauguin to stay in the south of France, but for getting rid of Van Gogh, Gauguin cut Van Gogh with a weapon and Van Gogh's left ear was cut off. We couldn't tell whether it's done on purpose or just an accident. The victim promised to keep silence for it, but Gauguin still left his friend behind. In the second day after the incident happened, Police inquired Gauguin about the details of this incident. At that time, Gauguin made up the fake theory that Van Gauguin cut his own ear."
At that time, Van Gogh lay on bed and didn't provide any information to the police. Then he ended his life by suicide after 7 months. If the truth was exposed, Gauguin would go to jail. In addition, the sword or razor that Van Gogh said he used to cut his own ear hasn't been discovered.
In the past, there were many different theories about why Van Gogh lost his ear. Some people said that's because Van Gogh had family psychosis, and some thought that's about the broken friendship between Van Gogh and Gauguin. But till now, no one doubts that it's the result of Van Gogh's self-mutilation behavior.
