Artwork: Emile Schuffenecker, Man with a Pipe (after Van Gogh’s Self-Portrait), ca. 1892-1900, chalk on paper, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam (Vincent van Gogh Stichting)
“Art is to console those who are broken by life,” Vincent van Gogh observed—but in the end it wasn’t enough to keep the great artist alive. Van Gogh died at the age of 37 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. He did a poor job of it, as a rib protected his internal organs from injury. The bullet is thought to have lodged near his spine, without hitting it. The day was July 27, 1990.
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After shooting himself, Van Gogh walked back to the Auberge Ravoux, in Auvers-sur-Oise, France, a popular destination for artists of the time, where he had been staying since May 1890. He moved there to be closer to his doctor, trying to find his way back into the world after experiencing an acute psychotic episode while living in Arles.
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The story of Van Gogh’s ear continues to this very day, as the story of the woman he gave it to has finally been revealed. Eighteen-year old Gabrielle Berlatier was a farmer’s daughter living in a nearby village who was attacked by a rabid dog on January 8, 1888. The attack was so devastating, the wound had to be cauterized by a red-hot iron, leaving a vicious scar. Despite her condition, Berlatier continued to work as a maid at the Café de la Gare, a brothel in Arles.
Two days shy of Christmas that same year, van Gogh severed his left ear, leaving only the lobe attached to his head. Then he taped up his wound and wrapped his ear in plastic, making a special delivery to Berlatier, bookending what was already a tragic year.
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