SELF-PORTRAIT WITH BANDAGED EAR

Last evening's gathering rejuvenated us with a combination of sharing, caring and giggling.   One of my all-time favorite quotations is by Shel Silverstein:

"I will not play tug o'war.  I'd rather play hug o'war.  Where everyone hugs instead of tugs.  Where everyone giggles and rolls on the rug.  Where everyone kisses, and everyone grins, and everyone cuddles, and everyone wins."

As a conclusion to last night's dinner, our hostess presented us with this sweet treat that was delicious to look at, as well as to eat.

 Back to Vincent, who wrote 902 letters, of which 820 were written to his brother Theo and other relatives.  In these letters he described how he was feeling, including his mental struggles.  When Vincent was about 20 years old and living in London, he withdrew from other people.  He himself mentioned living with "indescribably strong feelings of fear."  He felt "as though one is bound hand and foot, lying in a deep, dark pit, powerless to do anything."  He mentioned that dealing with people, talking to them, was painful and difficult for him.  Yet, he continued drawing and painting.

By 1883, he was overcome by great anxiety, depression, dejection and despair.  He sensed a procrastination and hesitancy in everything, which paralyzed his own passion and energy like a leaden atmosphere."

Vincent's personal crisis grew with failed relationships and an unhealthy lifestyle. He tragically grew unable to control his torrent of emotions.   Van Gogh was friends with Paul Gauguin, and the two of them had a disagreement or fight over an artistic principle.  Vincent was of the opinion that one should spontaneously paint whatever was in view.  Gauguin didn't agree.  He thought an artist should also paint from their imagination and visual memory.  This led to Van Gogh cutting off most of his left ear to make a point to Gauguin.   It was after this that he was hospitalized in Arles, France.

Self-Portrait With Bandaged Ear - 1889

Even though it was his left ear, this self-portrait shows his right ear is bandaged.  This is because he painted himself in a mirror. The blue cap, trimmed with black fur, secured the thick bandage in place and kept him warm in the winter cold.  This painting tells us that despite it all, Van Gogh was still determined to keep painting.  Notice how he includes a canvas on an easel behind him and a Japanese print, one of his main sources of artistic inspiration.  Also take note of the blue door.  We'll see this blue door again in another of his paintings.

In 1998, this painting was sold at Christie's auction for $71.5 million.  In the art world, Vincent is known as "the tormented artist."🖌