Posted on 12/23/2022 4:51:40 AM PST by Magnatron
Vincent van Gogh, the brilliant but troubled Dutch impressionist painter, severed his left ear after a "blazing row" with fellow artist Paul Gaugin in Arles, France, on this day in history, Dec. 23, 1888.
The 35-year-old artist famously presented the bloody ear lobe to a female acquaintance outside a brothel. She passed out from shock.
The incident underscored a tragic descent into madness punctuated by stunning displays of productivity and genius in van Gogh's final months on Earth.
"Although he sold only one painting during his lifetime, Van Gogh is now one of the most popular artists of all time," the Art Story Foundation writes in its biography of the painter, calling him an "iconic, tortured artist."
Van Gogh died of a gunshot wound to the chest, reportedly self-inflicted, on July 29, 1890.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
A great artist. But obviously mentally ill.
I wonder what Van Gogh would think of painting Holyfield.
I was once told that he had a technique of sharpening the point of his fine point brushes by putting the tip of the brush in his mouth and sucking it to a point - using lead-based paint.
Might have been true, or not.
That’s good.
Nah, it was climate change.
OKSooner said:
“Yes, the poor dude was irretrievably nuts. I was once told that he had a technique of sharpening the point of his fine point brushes by putting the tip of the brush in his mouth and sucking it to a point - using lead-based paint.
“Might have been true, or not.”
- - - -
Mr K (not the one on this forum) is a pro-level painter who knows a lot about art history and he says that yes, it was partially lead poisoning that made VG go crazy; also, many of the paints of that day had cyanide (for blue) and arsenic, and so on, in them. Painters in that day didn’t have a local art store, they had to grind and mix all their paints themselves. So even if you don’t stick your brush in your mouth, you’re being exposed to toxic heavy metals and so on.
Also he probably started out a little crazy to begin with.
Good thing Van Gogh didn’t meet up with Loreena Bobbit!
His favorite drink was absinthe, and lots of it.
I Googled her to see what happened to her.... LOL
“Lorena Bobbitt explains why she never remarried after slashing ex-husband’s genitals”
.
I remember reading a story years ago about a woman who had a job
painting the numbers on the faces of wristwatches.
Glow-in-the-dark numbers - using radium-based paint.
She used the same technique for sharpening the tip of her brushes.
After a number of years of this work - while going to the
bathroom one night in the dark - she noticed her lips
and tongue were glowing.
She ultimately died of cancer, of course.
What?
I saw a documentary about absinthe, and Van Gogh and his circle of friends were a prominent part.
He was doing a cell phone ad... “can you ear me now?”
Bookmark
Just think how much Van Gogh’s ear would go for at an auction today.
He actually only cut of the lobe, not his entire ear.
Mike Tyson asked him if he needed that ear anymore.
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