polity french third republicconcept:era modern
Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear
Oil on canvas (1889) by Vincent van Gogh, painted in Arles shortly after the December 1888 incident in which he severed his ear. One of the most recognized images in Western art. Held at the Courtauld Gallery, London.
Scholarly Significance
Van Gogh's most iconic self-portrait and the visual record of the December 1888 Arles incident; a key document in his psychological history.
Notes
- ·Painted in Arles, January 1889, in the weeks following the December 23, 1888, self-mutilation incident.
- ·Van Gogh depicts himself in a fur-lined cap and overcoat, pipe in mouth, against a Japanese woodblock print (visible in the background).
- ·A second version of this self-portrait exists at the Niarchos Collection (formerly at the Stavros Niarchos Foundation).
- ·The Japanese print in the background testifies to Van Gogh's deep engagement with Japonisme.
- ·Gifted to the Courtauld Institute of Art by Samuel Courtauld in 1934.