Van Gogh’s Ear Cut Off by Gauguin

Van Gogh’s Ear: Paul Gauguin and the Pact of Silence, the recent book by art historians Hans Kaufmann and Rita Wildegan, argues that Van Gogh’s ear has much to tell us.

From The Guardian:

According to official versions, the disturbed Dutch painter cut off his ear with a razor after a row with Gauguin in 1888. Bleeding heavily, Van Gogh then walked to a brothel and presented the severed ear to an astonished prostitute called Rachel before going home to sleep in a blood-drenched bed.

But two German art historians, who have spent 10 years reviewing the police investigations, witness accounts and the artists’ letters, argue that Gauguin, a fencing ace, most likely sliced off the ear with his sword during a fight, and the two artists agreed to hush up the truth.