The thing is, the self-mutilation story also started as rumor (although he did actually lay the dismembered ear at the doorstep of the woman he fancied). All we actually know about the night in question is that Gaugin, an aggressive and violent man prone to drinking, got into a horrible fight with his friend the pacifist. They separated that night, never spoke to each other again, and neither one ever spoke of or wrote (to scholarly satisfaction) who cut off the ear. Van Gogh later convalesced for mental illness, so everyone assumed he was crazy and did it to himself.
Objectively, though? Equally likely that Gaugin cut off the ear.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
branchandroot
"You hit in me in the ear?! No, that's perfect!"
Date: 2008-11-23 06:18 pm (UTC)Objectively, though? Equally likely that Gaugin cut off the ear.
Ahem.
--
Ciro