Artsy, Fartsy Catfight
Filed under: Etc.
Vincent van Gogh is famous for two things: His painting Starry Night and for being the whackjob who lopped off his own ear to give to a prostitute.
Nice tip, huh?
Well, two German historians now claim that the famous painter lost his ear in a fight with his friend, French painter Paul Gauguin, and he didn't cut it off himself.
Rewrite!
Gauguin was a skilled fencer and during a heated argument, Gauguin allegedly cut off van Gogh's ear with his sword. The historians suggest that both men concealed the real events due to Gauguin's fear of prosecution and van Gogh's deep affection and infatuation with his friend.
The first story was better.
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It was during a fight with Gauguin that Van Gogh's ear came off. However Van Gogh did the chopping himself. It was in that he wanted to prove to Gauguin the extent he was willing to sacrifice to keep Gauguin's friendship. And no apparently they were not gay.
1st?
Now who said art was boooring?!!
WOW Perez you are the king of IGNORANCE!!!
That rumor has been out there for AGES!!!! And NO he was not only famous for Starry night, he has a large collection of masterpieces that made Van Gogh the art genious he is now!
Maybe next time you are in Vegas you can take a tour at the Bellagio's museum or at the Venetian to look and admire some of his work… damn you can be not only an idiot but also a full IGNORANT!
First
Now who didnt say art was fun??
Mike Tyson bit that shit off!
I prefer the second story… ’cause I love the drama, lol ! They shared more than a friendship for sure…
Van Gogh is my favorite! I love pretty much everything about his totally dramatic story. I think it's great that this is "news". Art should be a more prevalent part of the conversation.
I totally would have loved him if he gave me his ear.
Ok in the first version of this story (as far as I know), Van Gogh lopped his own ear off and mailed it to Gauguin. Now Gauguin cut it off. So what would you do if your lover chopped your ear off? If you look at these guys history they were NOT just friends. So I guess Gauguin is the Lorena Bobbit of his time. Either way the sex must have been off the chain.
what the actually say is that Van Gogh was prone to seizures and after his fight with Gauguin he had a straight razor in his hand, the one he used to threaten Gauguin, and he cut his ear off during the seizure.
They were both bipolar so it's not that surprising…
umm… apparently you have been living in a hole. it was only the LOBE of the ear that was cut off. previously people had thought it happened during one of his seizures, not because of a prostitute. The idea that it was due to a tussle with Paul Gauguin is actually far more interesting than both of those other stories, in my opinion.
but nice try at talking about art history… you should probably stick to celebrity gossip though.
Unlike Vincent, you're only famous for only one thing: being an uneducated idiot. This blurb proves it.
This has been out there for ages!! Van Gogh cut his own ear off as well. Van Gogh is also famous for more than Starry Night. Maybe you should try going to a museum once in a while.
That painting isn't of Van Gogh. He painted it of his doctor I think, or dentist… Either way. Not Him.
It's spelled Gaugin.
Perez you idiot, he didn't cut off his ear, only a very small portion was cut off, not even enough to leave a scar. Go back to history school moron.
Only famous for Starry Night!? Are you CRAZY!? Do you know nothing about art? His paintings are some of the world's best known, most popular and expensive works of art! I can't believe that you actually wrote that!
Who the heck knows or cares how he lost his ear. Every story that can be told has been written about how it MIGHT have happen.
Hahahahaha he is always the first one to break the "news" lol…
WOW Perez you are the king of IGNORANCE!!!
That rumor has been out there for AGES!!!! And NO he was not only famous for Starry night, he has a large collection of masterpieces that made Van Gogh the art genious he is now!
Maybe next time you are in Vegas you can take a tour at the Bellagio's museum or at the Venetian to look and admire some of his work… damn you can be not only an idiot but also a full IGNORANT!
Deep affection and infatuation? Sounds gay to me.
Van Gogh was famous for more than two things, you peasant.
Now with the Picasso-Lorca movie… Wouldn't be good to have a Van Gogh-Gauguin movie..? Starred by CHRISTIAN BALE?
is it just me or does van Gogh strike anyone as obviously gay. His infatuation with Gauguin was much stronger than any friendship could possibly be. I dunno I have read a couple of books on him and that is the perception i get: gay gay gay
Uhhmmm……Perez….that rumour has been around for decades….you're a bit ( A LOT ) late on that one.
I even learned it in a university art history class three years ago….
woza! he looks like the crazy guy from grey's
bullshit……
how many years later?
I took art history over 10 years ago and the story was unknown then. There are theory's that Van Gogh cut off his ear because he had an affair with his best friends wife. There was also the theory of it being cut off in a fight. I have never heard anything about giving it to a prostitute. The truth is no one knows and those that did didn't talk about it.
FYI Van Gogh is famous because is was a revolutionary in the art world and no one could or can match is talent. Stary night was one of hundreds of his incredible work and minimizing him to that is like saying Elvis was famous for a bad white suit and a quaf haircut.
ooollllld news!!! i leant about this in my art history degree 3 yrs ago! no one knows what really happened but it most likely was not to do with a prostitute and happened in a fight with gauguin
C'mon Perez. This knowledge was available before we were even alive!
Chris Martin from Coldplay looks just like Vincent Van Gogh