Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear
Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear | |
---|---|
Artist | Vincent van Gogh |
Year | January 1889 |
Medium | oil on canvas |
Dimensions | 60 cm × 49 cm (24 in × 19 in) |
Location | Courtauld Gallery, London |
Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear is an 1889 self-portrait by Dutch Post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh.[1] The painting is in the collection of the Courtauld Institute of Art and on display in the Gallery at Somerset House. The painting includes inspiration from Japanese Woodblock printing.
About the painting
In this self-portrait, Van Gogh portrays himself in a blue cap with black fur and a green overcoat with a bandage covering his ear and extending under his chin. Behind him is an open window, a canvas on an easel, with a few indistinguishable marks, as well as a Japanese woodblock print, Geishas in a Landscape made by Satō Torakiyo in the 1870s.[2][3]
The fur cap pictured in the portrait serves as a memory of the difficult working circumstances he encountered in January 1889. The cap had been recently purchased to keep his heavy bandage in place and protect him from the winter cold.[4]
Van Gogh used Impasto painting strokes, a technique where paint is laid thickly on a surface to show marks of the Painting knife, to give the composition more energy and passion.[5][6] He was inspired by Adolphe Monticelli's use of impasto in his own paintings [7][6] as illustrated by the letter he wrote to his brother, Theo, in 1888. [5][6]
Van Gogh had moved from Paris to Arles to establish a community of supportive artists called the Studio of the South.[8] After renting four rooms in The Yellow House, he invited Paul Gauguin to join him.[9][10][11]
On evening of December 23, 1888, Gauguin threatened to leave and Van Gogh approached him with a razor. Later that night, he sliced off his left ear, which is not apparent in the portrait since he used a mirror to paint it, making it seem like the right ear is bandaged instead,[12] and brought it to a prostitute in Arles.[13][14][15]
History
In a 17 January 1889 letter to his brother Theo, Van Gogh mentioned he had made a new self-portrait, which is believed to be this one.[16]
At the time of Van Gogh's death, this painting was in the possession of Julien (Père) Tanguy, although it was unclear how he had obtained it. Tanguy had posed twice for Van Gogh in 1887. It was exhibited in Paris 1901 and 1905 in a major Van Gogh retrospective. In 1928 Samuel Courtauld purchased it and it is currently in the collection of the Courtauld Gallery in London.[17]
The Japanese Art Influence
The art of Woodblock printing in Japan was of great influence for Van Gogh as he was a big collector of many Japanese pieces.[18] Throughout his lifetime, he had collected hundreds of Japanese prints,[19] including Geishas in a Landscape by Torakiyo Sato, which was then used as inspiration for the copy in the background of this portrait. [20]
Van Gogh's interest in Japanese art guided him to modernize his own art style. He enjoyed the bold colors and spatial effects of the Japanese prints which prompted him to start using them in all of his work including this portrait.[19]
See also
References
- ^ Jonathan Jones (9 September 2000). "Self-Portrait With a Bandaged Ear, Van Gogh (1889)". The Guardian. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- ^ "Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear Vincent van Gogh, January 1889". Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ Cooper, Douglas (1957). "Two Japanese Prints from Vincent van Gogh's Collection". The Burlington Magazine. 99 (651): 204–198. ISSN 0007-6287. JSTOR 872200.
- ^ "Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear". The Courtauld. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ a b "Did Van Gogh use impasto?". Van Gogh reproductions, hand-painted in oil on canvas | Van Gogh Studio. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ a b c "Van Gogh e-book for free | Van Gogh Studio". Van Gogh reproductions, hand-painted in oil on canvas | Van Gogh Studio. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
- ^ "Behind the scenes in Conservation: The unfashionable artist who inspired Van Gogh | Behind the scenes | National Gallery, London". www.nationalgallery.org.uk. Retrieved 21 March 2024.
- ^ "Van Gogh and Gauguin: The Studio of the South". The Art Institute of Chicago. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ Paintings, Authors: Department of European. "Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890) | Essay | The Metropolitan Museum of Art | Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History". The Met’s Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "South of France". Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Vincent van Gogh - The Yellow House (The Street)". Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear". The Courtauld. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "South of France". Van Gogh Museum. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "File:Le Forum Républicain (Arles) - 30 December 1888 - Vincent van Gogh ear incident.jpg - Wikipedia". commons.wikimedia.org. 20 January 2014. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear". The Courtauld. Retrieved 25 March 2024.
- ^ "736 (740, 571): To Theo van Gogh. Arles, Thursday, 17 January 1889. - Vincent van Gogh Letters". www.vangoghletters.org. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Vincent Van Gogh, Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear". Courtauld Institute of Art. Retrieved 30 March 2020.
- ^ "Van Gogh a fan of Japan: ANSWERS TO". ProQuest. ProQuest 2267648371.
- ^ a b "Inspiration from Japan". vangoghmuseum-prod.azurewebsites.net. Retrieved 26 March 2024.
- ^ Cooper, Douglas (1957). "Two Japanese Prints from Vincent van Gogh's Collection". The Burlington Magazine. 99 (651): 204–198. ISSN 0007-6287. JSTOR 872200.
- v
- t
- e
works
- Early works (1881–82)
- Portraits (1881–1890)
- Peasant Character Studies (1881–1885)
- Van Gogh's family in his art (1881–1888)
- Sien (1882–83)
- Cottages (1883–1885)
- Water Mill at Gennep (1884)
- Still life paintings, Netherlands (1884–85)
- Old Church Tower at Nuenen (1884–85)
- Amsterdam (1885)
- Wheat Fields (1885–1890)
- Le Moulin de la Galette (1886)
- Still life paintings, Paris (1886–87)
- Montmartre (1886–87)
- Self portraits (1886–1889)
- Outskirts of Paris (1887)
- Asnières (1887)
- Seine (1887)
- Japonaiserie (1887)
- Sunflowers (1887–1889)
- Trees and Undergrowth (1887–1890)
- Copies by Vincent van Gogh (1887–1890)
- Langlois Bridge at Arles (1888)
- Saintes-Maries (1888)
- Boats du Rhône (1888)
- Décoration for the Yellow House (1888)
- The Roulin Family (1888–89)
- Hospital in Arles (1888–89)
- Flowering Orchards (1888–89)
- Almond Blossoms (1888–1890)
- Paintings of Children (1888–1890)
- The Wheat Field (1889)
- Reaper (1889)
- Olive Trees (1889)
- Wheat Fields (1889)
- Butterflies (1889–90)
- Saint-Paul Asylum, Saint-Rémy (1889–90)
- Auvers size 30 canvases (1890)
- Auvers Double-squares and Squares (1890)
- Lost works by Vincent van Gogh
- Display at Les XX, 1890
- Boy Cutting Grass with a Sickle (1881)
- Meadows near Rijswijk and the Schenkweg (1882)
- The 'Laakmolen' near The Hague (1882)
- Church Pew with Worshippers (1882)
- Woman on Her Deathbed (1883)
- Landscape with Trees (1883)
- Peatery in Drenthe (1883)
- Landscape with Wheelbarrow (1883)
- Drawbridge in Nieuw-Amsterdam (1883)
- Breton Women (1888)
- Old Vineyard with Peasant Woman (1890)
- 87 Hackford Road (1873 or 1874)
- Marsh with Water Lilies (1881)
- Sorrow (1882)
- Portrait of a Man in a Top Hat (1882)
- Torso of Venus and a Landscape (1887)
- Head of a Girl (1888)
- Van Gogh Museum
- Van Gogh House (Drenthe)
- Maison Van Gogh
- Kröller-Müller Museum
- Monastery of Saint-Paul de Mausole
- Vincent van Gogh (1886 painting)
- Portrait of Vincent van Gogh (1887)
- The Painter of Sunflowers (1888 painting)
- Lust for Life (1934 novel)
- Van Gogh (1948 film)
- Lust for Life (1956 film)
- Van Gogh (1956 opera)
- Vincent and Theo van Gogh (1963 statue)
- "Vincent" (1971 song)
- Vincent (1987 film)
- Vincent & Theo (1990 film)
- Vincent and Me (1990 film)
- Dreams (1990 film)
- Vincent (1990 opera)
- Van Gogh (1991 film)
- Vincent in Brixton (2003 play)
- The Yellow House (2007 film)
- "Vincent and the Doctor" (2010 TV episode)
- Loving Vincent (2017 film)
- At Eternity's Gate (2018 film)
- Theo van Gogh
- Wil van Gogh
- Johanna van Gogh-Bonger
- Andries Bonger
- Theo van Gogh (film director)
- Anton Mauve
- Johannes Stricker
- Jacob Baart de la Faille (1928 and 1970; "F")
- Jan Hulsker (1978, revised 1989; "JH")