OTD...Van Gogh
Another Ear Incident
I enjoy OTD trivia…
OTD On December 23, 1888, Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, suffering from severe depression, cuts off the lower part of his left ear with a razor while staying in Aries, France. He later documented the event in a painting titled Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear.
Vincent Willem van Gogh was born in the Netherlands, March 30, 1853. He had a difficult, nervous personality and worked unsuccessfully at an art gallery and then as a preacher among poor miners in Belgium. In 1880, he decided to become an artist.
Well as the story goes, Van Gogh moved to Paris (1886) to stay with his younger brother Theo as they were very close. His brother supported him financially introduced him to a lot of influential people in the area and they had an influence on him he because although he had his own artistic style their influence helped him to lighten up a bit and he started using more color in his work. A couple years later he rented a house in the of South France, Aris, where he wanted to found an artist colony and be less of a burden on his brother and it is there that mutilated himself by chopping the lower half of his earlobe off.
Anyways, it got me to thinking… about the ear incident during the recent election campaign. At the RNC (Republican National Convention) where Trump and his cult following all wore female sanitary looking pads on their ears.
Both Van Gogh and Trump are pretty controversial figures with some weird similarities. It’s interesting that Van Gogh just decided he would be an artist; much like Trump just decided he was going to be President after a lifetime in real estate and a thorough comedic shellacking by then President Barrack Obama at the Press Corp Dinner. Both The Artist and The Con used polarizing unconventional behavior to their advantage. Dementia is also a commonality in their circle of experience. Donald’s father suffered from it and it’s been said that this is what drove Vincent to mutilate himself.
The Artist gained fame after death. I think The Con’s fame will fade and the truth of his legacy will be darker than any Van Gogh painting. Just my musings on OTD.