Post-Impressionism1889
Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear
Vincent van Gogh
Curator's Eye
"The work is striking for the contrast between the painter’s fixed gaze, marked by a forced serenity, and the presence of the Japanese print in the background, a symbol of his unattainable artistic ideal."
Painted shortly after his self-mutilation crisis, this self-portrait is an act of psychological resilience where Van Gogh affirms his will to continue painting despite suffering.
Analysis
Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear is a pivotal work created in January 1889, just weeks after Paul Gauguin's dramatic departure from Arles. To understand what we are seeing, one must delve into the context of the "Yellow House": Van Gogh dreamed of founding a Studio of the South, a community of artists living in harmony. The failure of this project and the violent dispute with Gauguin led Vincent to cut off a portion of his left ear. This painting is not a cry for help, but a health certificate the artist addressed to himself.
Expert analysis reveals that Van Gogh portrays himself in heavy work clothing—a green coat buttoned to the collar—suggesting both protection against the winter cold and an emotional armor. His face is emaciated, his eyes a penetrating, almost feverish blue-green. The presence of the large white bandage is not hidden; it occupies a central place, transforming the infirmity into an attribute of a martyr of modern art.
The "myth" associated here is that of the cursed artist, but Vincent attempts to overturn it through order. In the background, we see a Japanese print ("Geishas in a Landscape" by Sato Torakiyo), which represented innocence, clarity, and aesthetic perfection to him. This contrast between the painful physical reality (the ear) and the spiritual aspiration (Japan) creates a unique psychological tension. Van Gogh uses Japan as a lost paradise, an ideal of calm he desperately tries to regain.
Finally, the work deals with the duality between the interior and the exterior. The partially open window on the left suggests winter light, while the easel on the right reminds us that the only remedy for his madness is work. It is a work of reconstruction: Van Gogh proves to his brother Theo and the world that he is still master of his hand and his vision. The color palette, though vivid, remains more contained than in his previous works, marking a will for self-control.
The first secret lies in the inversion of the image. Although the title says "bandaged ear," the bandage appears to be on the right ear in the painting. However, Van Gogh cut his left ear. The secret is simple yet fundamental: Vincent painted this work while looking in a mirror. The painting is thus a mirror image of reality, a detail that underscores the intimacy and solitary face-to-face encounter of the artist with himself.
A historical secret concerns the exact nature of the injury. Contrary to the popular legend claiming he cut off his entire ear, medical reports and Theo's letters suggest he only cut a piece of the lobe. However, this painting shows a bandage covering the entire jaw and side of the head, suggesting the wound was severe enough to require significant compression or that Vincent was visually exaggerating his own physical distress.
The secret of the Japanese print in the background is often misunderstood. Van Gogh did not paint it from memory; he owned a vast collection of "Ukiyo-e." The characters in the print seem to be looking toward the artist, creating a silent dialogue between Eastern tradition and Western turmoil. This iconographic choice is a hidden tribute to his Parisian years and his desire to unite cultures through pure color.
Another secret is hidden in the pipe. In a similar version of this painting, Vincent is smoking, but here he chooses not to. The pipe is often associated in his letters with a sense of well-being and domestic calm. The absence of smoke or the fact that he is not holding it in this specific frame perhaps emphasizes the privation or the intense concentration required to complete this canvas without succumbing to his nervous crises.
Finally, X-ray analysis revealed that Van Gogh reused a pre-existing canvas. Beneath the layers of paint, traces of a different composition can be seen, testifying to the artist's financial precariousness at the time. Every brushstroke is therefore a vital investment, made on a support already charged with history, reinforcing the idea of a work of absolute necessity.
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