Self-portrait with cut ear’ by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889
On the subject of my post – No Myth, No Music – from Joshua Bell to Igor Fokin and his Puppet Doo Doo. Artist and his myth, in case of Van Gogh, it’s a crazy genius who cut off his own ear. I wonder how many millions this added to his fame and his story. “But two German art historians, who have spent 10 years reviewing the police investigations, witness accounts and the artists’ letters, argue that Gauguin, a fencing ace, most likely sliced off the ear with his sword during a fight, and the two artists agreed to hush up the truth” – complete article in the Guardian.
Paul Gauguin – Self-portrait with Halo, 1889
Who looks crazy? I am looking at these two portraits and I wonder how similar they are. The obvious red background, the deliberate dark outline separating yellow from red in Gauguin’s portrait and green from red in Van Gogh’s portrait. The yellow smoke in the air echoes the floating halo… The blue flower stem forming a snake head opposite of the apples in Gauguin’s portrait is an obvious metaphor of sin.
- Further Reading:
- Another Twist in the Mystery of Van Gogh’s Ear
- Van Gogh Describes Starry Night Over the Rhone to brother Theo and Eugene Boch
- Van Gogh Letters Set a New Standard for Online Manuscript Publishing
consider free RSS subscription