How are you?
Currently, I am
introducing the stories about various artists and their paintings with the
title “Interesting
Art Stories”.
The 51st story is “Self-Portrait
with Bandaged Ear” by Vincent van Gogh.
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| Self-Portrait, Vincent van Gogh (1889) |
"Self-Portrait with
Bandaged Ear" is an 1889 self-portrait by Vincent van Gogh, a Dutch
Post-Impressionist artist. This painting is now one of the collection of the
Courtauld Institute of Art in London, England.
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| The Courtauld Institute of Art |
This self-portrait was
painted by Van Gogh shortly after he returned home from hospital after mutilating
his own ear. In this painting, Van Gogh shows himself wearing a blue cap with
black fur and a green overcoat, with a bandage covering his ear. His facial
expression looks still and melancholy, as if contemplating his future as an
artist.
In the background of the
painting, there are an open window that appear to be letting in a cold winter
breeze, a canvas on an easel, and a Japanese woodblock print. The blank canvas
on the left seems to suggest that he will also continue to draw many paintings
in the future, and the Japanese woodblock print on the right is “Geishas in a
Landscape” created by Sato Torakiyo in the 1870s, showing that Japonism and
Japanese woodblock print had a significant influence on Van Gogh's work.
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| Geishas in a Landscape, Sato Torakiyo (1870s) |
Japan, like Arles, was an
exotic place of refuge in Van Gogh's imaginary world, and as in “The Crau at
Arles: Peach Trees in Blossom (1889)” with a background reminiscent of Japan's
Mount Fuji, the two places are also implied in this painting.
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| The Crau at Arles: Peach Trees in Blossom (1889) |
Van Gogh actually multilated
his left ear, but because he used a mirror to draw this painting, some people
mistakenly think that he mutilated his right ear instead of his left.
Van Gogh moved from Paris to Arles in 1888 in hopes of creating a community where artists support and encourage one another. He invited Paul Gauguin, an artist who had become a friend in Paris, to his home and Gauguin joined in October of that year.
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| Bedroom in Arles, Vincent van Gogh (1888) |
However, the two were a disagreeable pair and frequently quarreled fiercely.
Van Gogh got angry fiercely when he heard that Gauguin will soon leave his
home. On the evening of December 23, 1888, Van Gogh had a seizure and
threatened Gauguin with a razor and then mutilated his own ear. Then, he
presented his mutilated earlobe to a prostitute named Rachel. Van Gogh, who was
taken to the hospital after the incident, confessed that he had no recollection
of what had happened during his seizure.
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| Vincent van Gogh painting sunflowers, Paul Gauguin (1888) |
At the time of Van Gogh's death, it was owned by Julien (Père) Tanguy, who was his model in his paintings, and Samuel Courtauld, the founder of the Courtauld Institute of Art, purchased it in 1928.
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| Portrait of Père Tanguy, Vincent van Gogh (1887) |
By January 17, 1889, Vincent wrote to his younger brother Theo that he had completed "another new self-portrait".
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| Theo van Gogh |
However,
controversy has arisen as to whether this referred to was “Self Portrait with
Bandaged Ear” or another self-portrait, “Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear and
Pipe”.
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| Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear and Pipe, Vincent van Gogh (1889) |
Thank you.
