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Rank speculation
May. 6th, 2009 04:28 pmVia ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
troublems03: Van Gogh's ear 'was cut off by friend Gauguin with a sword'. A pair of German academics recently published a book postulating that Van Gogh did not cut off his own earlobe, but that Gauguin cut it off with his sword and then let Van Gogh take the rap.
Is it plausible? I think so; Gauguin was more than impulsive enough to hurt someone in a fit of rage, and of course Van Gogh would have agreed to cover up Gauguin's misdeed - anything to make Gauguin happy.
It also makes Gauguin look even worse than previously - not merely because of the "mutilating his friend" thing, but for following up the attack by hiding in a hotel while Van Gogh was quietly bleeding to death (he didn't die because someone found him in time to stop the bleeding, but he easily could have), and then cavorting off to Britanny while Van Gogh lurched from one asylum to another as he cycled in and out of manic breaks, which were kick-started by the stress of being attacked by, of all people, Gauguin.
Did it actually happen? Well...maybe. As the article points out, "all the hypotheses are valid given the lack of material"; at this remove it's impossible to know.
But it sure is interesting speculation. The angst potential alone is awe-inspiring; as if Van Gogh hadn't already suffered enough.
troublems03: Van Gogh's ear 'was cut off by friend Gauguin with a sword'. A pair of German academics recently published a book postulating that Van Gogh did not cut off his own earlobe, but that Gauguin cut it off with his sword and then let Van Gogh take the rap. Is it plausible? I think so; Gauguin was more than impulsive enough to hurt someone in a fit of rage, and of course Van Gogh would have agreed to cover up Gauguin's misdeed - anything to make Gauguin happy.
It also makes Gauguin look even worse than previously - not merely because of the "mutilating his friend" thing, but for following up the attack by hiding in a hotel while Van Gogh was quietly bleeding to death (he didn't die because someone found him in time to stop the bleeding, but he easily could have), and then cavorting off to Britanny while Van Gogh lurched from one asylum to another as he cycled in and out of manic breaks, which were kick-started by the stress of being attacked by, of all people, Gauguin.
Did it actually happen? Well...maybe. As the article points out, "all the hypotheses are valid given the lack of material"; at this remove it's impossible to know.
But it sure is interesting speculation. The angst potential alone is awe-inspiring; as if Van Gogh hadn't already suffered enough.
