Let me tell you a story that I promise shall be most intriguing. Everbody knows - or so we believe- that Vincent van Gogh "mutilated" one of his ears on a certain night during a psychotic episode. But how true is that? I mean... that happened over 100 years ago, and during that time van Gogh was as renowned as any one of us. How much about this story is truth? And where’s the proof that confirms it?

Well, the famous story stablishes, give or take, the following: On the night of December 23rd 1888, Vincent van Gogh had a heated quarrel with Paul Gauguin, a painter who happened to be his roommate, “He ran towards me, with a knife on his grip", he declared later. Paul left for a room in a hotel, and during van Gogh's solitude, he had voice hallucinations that ultimately made him cut off most of his left ear with a shaving razorblade. He wrapped up his ear, and then gave it to a prostitute by the name of Rachel in a brothel by 1 Rue du Bout d'Arles, and then returned home (to "The Yellow House"). Rachel called the police and on the following day, they found him on his bed, unconscious, and covered in blood. Van Gogh declared he had no memories of the incident and was then taken to the Hospital in Arles, there he would treated y Dr Felix Rey, who was still undergoing training, and was hospitalized by the diagnosis of "Acute mania associated with generalized delirium" and was sent home on January 7th 1889. The ear was put in an alcohol filled jar, and kept by the physician, until the time of its theft, in the days to follow.

 Ward in the Hospital in Arles, 1889 The Oskar Reinhart Collection "Am Römerholz", Winterthur, Switzerland.

 Self-portrait with Bandaged Ear and Pipe, 1889, private collection.

 "It was terribly sad being there, because from time to time all his grief would well up inside and he would try to weep, but couldn't. Poor fighter and poor, poor sufferer"     -Theo van Gogh, letter to her wife.

To illustrate a bit about the era, what we currently know about van Gogh is due to the immense amount of letters he exchanged with his brother Theo, of whom he was economically and emotionally dependant. He was an art dealer, hence he knew many artists. Vincent had lived his whole life as a traveler, and had never owned a house of his own, which is why he found purpose in buying a house he could share with Theo and other painters. Though, it wasn't until his brother gave him money that he could rent 4 rooms from an old house. He called it "The Yellow House" and moved there in 1888.

 The Yellow House, 1888. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

 The Red Vineyard, November 1888. Pushkin Museum, Moscow. Sold to Anna Boch, 1890. 

Paul Gauguin was a more renowned painter than Vincent, however, he was at the time struggling financially, which is why he went to ask Theo - his friend - for money. Theo persuaded him to move in to The Yellow House with Vincent, in Arles (France). But even when Paul never refused the offer, he did postpone the trip several times until Octobre 1888. In the other hand... Vincent who had already acquainted him, was excited for the arrival of his first roommate, so was expressed in his letters.

 Van Gogh Painting Sunflowers, 1888. Paul Gauguin. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

Photo Vincent van Gogh (red arrow) and Paul Gauguin (yellow arrow).

So.. What really happened that night?

There are a thousand theories about the motives for which van Gogh cut off his ear. The most accepted is that he did it as a symbol of love for the supposed prostitute, Rachel. The second is due to the denial of the news telling of his brother’s incoming marriage, which arrived on December 23rd. Some also propose the possibility that it was done as an act of hatred towards his father. Other more foolhardy proposals would say that it was an inverse emulation of Jack the Ripper's crimes (who was known for mutilating prostitutes), which had been reported recently and multiple times in the local newspapers; This idea is not so farfetched if we think about the strong empathy the painter felt towards prostitutes. Another theory predicates that it was to imitate bullfights that took place in Arles, where the "Matador" would cut off the bull's ear as a trophy that would then be gifted to a lady among the spectators.

One of the theories that supports that van Gogh mutilated himself suggests that he was in love with Gauguin and that during a "homosexual impulse" – and I don't know what they mean by this – he cut off his ear as a kind of pun between "lul" which means penis in dutch and "lel" which means ear. Despite that, mi profound investigation on google translator concluded that lel is not a dutch word at all.

Another scenario that has been gaining support is that the wound was caused by another person, logically by Guaguin. Theory that would take away much of the romanticism and personality, which is reason why it is shunned by the media even though it still doesn't take away from the truth. It is based on the following: Guaguin was never convinced about living with Vincent, furthermore, it is accepted that both clashed often due to their differences in art. Paul believed in painting according to memory, and Vincent in painting from is been seen, thus Paul would paint indoors, while Vincent outdoors. However, during winter or rainy days, he was forced to go back to the studio and paint next to his roommate. It is known that Paul, who by the way was a master at fencing, had intentions in leaving the house, which could have been what unleashed the brawl. Nontheless, neither the razor was said to be used by van Gogh, nor the sword was said to be used by Paul, were ever found.

 Self-Portrait, 1888. Van Gogh dedicated to Paul Gauguin. // Self-portrait, 1888. Paul Guaguin dedicated to van Gogh. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam.

      Les Alyscamps, 1888. Van Gogh.        //    Alyscamps, 1888. Paul Gauguin  

There are different versions regarding how the wound was, Theo and his family relate that it was only the lobe, but the police report and Dr. Rey referred a "severe cut of the outer ear", Dr Rey went as far as to draw the wound while mainting contact through letters with Irving Stone, an american novelist that was doing research on the case for a biographic film "Lust for for Life" in 1930, over 40 years after the events. As can be seen here:

 Drawing of the lession by Dr. Rey. Letter to Irving Stone, 1930.

  Dr. Felix Rey, 1889. Van Gogh. Pushkin Museum, Moscú, Rusia.  

This sketch contradicts Theo's testimony since - precisely - the only remainder of the left ear was the lobe. According to the characteristics of the wound, experts have described that it is quite unlikely for it to have been autoinflicted. Not to mention that a razorblade wouldn’t have had the same effect. And thus, it all concluded with a "pact of silence" between both men, and Guaguin returning to Paris the following day.

There is another interesting debate in this story: Rachel the prostitute, who was the first person who saw it and who called the police. There are neither witnesses nor accounts of any Rachel (be it artistic or real name) in that brothel according to art historians. This leads the search for the most important testimony in a dead end. But what is the mystery? If by then the profession was better regarded. Well, according to other investigations, Rachel was not a prostitute, but rather a servant by the name Gabrielle Berlatier, who by age restrictions worked there illegally, not to mention terribly accepted.

Gabrielle's story is just as interesting. She was a farmer’s daughter, who arrived at Arles to get treatment at the hospital after getting infected by rabies after a dog bit her. The transportation and the treatment left both her and her family in poverty (some things never change), forcing her to work since tender age. Her name was kept a secret for several years as was her request. However, it was later on revealed by Bernadette Murphy, an art historian who claimed still kept contact with the family. Researchers have even proved the existence of such a character with the findings of the hospitals records containing her medical files; that I shall show you next. It is also said that the same person worked as maintenance at The Night Cafe, to which Vincent was a regular and even made a painting of, which could better link the previously established connection.

 The medical record of Gabrielle Berlatier for rabies treatment at the Institut Pasteur, Paris.

  The Night Café, 1888.  Van Gogh. Yale University Art Gallery, Connecticut, USA.  

Alas it was a short period of time before can Gogh died from a gunshot to the stomach on July 29th 1890, be it by his own doing or someone else, eliminating the possibility of a new declaration and what's worse yet... The further creation of many more masterpieces.

So tell me, what do you think actually happened?