In the arsenal of psychiatry, there is a term - Van Gogh syndrome. They talk about him when a mentally ill person either demands to have an operation on him, or tries to perform it on himself with his own hand. The name is associated with the name of the famous Dutch artist Vincent Van Gogh. This man once cut off his earlobe along with part of his auricle. Why could he do this?
The syndrome, named after the great painter, is found in various mental disorders - dysmorphophobia (pathological dissatisfaction with one's appearance), schizophrenia. In the hospital, where he was placed after this strange act, Van Gogh was diagnosed with temporal lobe epilepsy.
Modern psychiatrists who study the artist's biography prefer to talk about epileptic or manic-depressive psychosis. In the first case, the disease could be hereditary. People with epilepsy were among the painter's maternal relatives. In the second case, the cause of the disease could be a passion for absinthe combined with hard work.
How did it happen?
According to the generally accepted version, Vincent committed an act of violence against himself on December 23, 1888 after a quarrel with Paul Gauguin.
Van Gogh at that time was thinking about creating a "Workshop of the South" - a brotherhood that would develop a new direction in painting for future generations. At the same time, he pinned great hopes on P. Gauguin. But Gauguin did not share Van Gogh's ideas, and Vincent could not understand this, and the meetings of the two artists, at first peaceful, increasingly ended in quarrels. During one of these quarrels, Van Gogh in a rage grabbed a razor and pounced on his interlocutor, Gauguin miraculously managed to keep him. Returning home, the artist experienced such deep remorse that he decided to punish himself in such a terrible way.
Van Gogh didn't cut off his ear
German scientists G. Kaufmann and R. Wildegans believe that the reason for the quarrel between the artists was not disagreements in the field of art, but rivalry over women.
The cause of the conflict was a certain woman of easy virtue named Rachel. Van Gogh really pounced on Gauguin, and he, being a good swordsman, defended himself with a rapier, as a result of which he cut off Vincent's ear.
Subsequently, giving testimony to the police, it was Gauguin who said that Van Gogh mutilated himself, while Vincent was unable to say anything intelligible.
Paul Gauguin is not to blame
The English researcher M. Bailey came to the conclusion that Van Gogh nevertheless cut off his own ear, but the quarrel with Gauguin was not the reason for this.
Shortly before this event, Theo, Vincent's brother, wrote a letter to his mother, in which he announced his intention to marry, and on December 23, Vincent received money from his brother. Most likely, along with the money came the news of the upcoming marriage of his brother.
How could Van Gogh take this news? Subsequently, Theo mentioned in a letter to the bride that Vincent did not approve of his decision and stated that "marriage should not become the main goal of life." This is not surprising: his brother constantly provided Vincent with support - both financial and moral. The upcoming wedding of his brother meant for Van Gogh that he might soon be deprived of brotherly help.
Perhaps the news of his brother's future marriage turned out to be an unbearable test for the artist's unstable psyche. The result was a fit of insanity and an act of violence against oneself.
However, none of these versions can be considered completely proven. Van Gogh's act is still a mystery.
