Popnography
CONTACTStaffCAREER OPPORTUNITIESADVERTISE WITH USPRIVACY POLICYPRIVACY PREFERENCESTERMS OF USELEGAL NOTICE
© 2023 Pride Publishing Inc.
All Rights reserved
All Rights reserved
Scroll To Top
By continuing to use our site, you agree to our Private Policy and Terms of Use.
A pair of German art historians think there's more to the story of Vincent Van Gogh's ear than meets the eye. In a new book, aptly titled Van Gogh's Ear, Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegans claim the artist Paul Gauguin lopped off the painter's ear with a fencing sword, either in a fit of rage or self-defense, and that it was the incident, not a more generalized madness, that drove Van Gogh to commit suicide two years later. (Not in dispute is the fact that Van Gogh gifted the severed flesh to a prostitute -- lucky girl).
Whether or not the wound was self-inflicted, it happened just as or after Gauguin was leaving Van Gogh's house after a tumultous visit that may or may not have been sexually charged. In any case, this wasn't your average bro throwdown. According to Kaufmann and Wildegans, the two tortured artists upheld a pact of secrecy after the incident -- "Gauguin to avoid prosecution and Van Gogh in a vain attempt to keep a friend with whom he was hopelessly infatuated."
--JESSANNE COLLINS
Previously >Dolly Parton's Book of Many Colors
From our Sponsors
Most Popular
Watch Now: Advocate Channel
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.
Trending Stories & News
For more news and videos on advocatechannel.com, click here.