Drama at Arles new light on Van Gogh's self-mutilation

Apollo, Sept, 2005 by Martin Bailey

It is the most well-known incident in art history. On 23 December 1888 Van Gogh severed part of his ear, abruptly ending his collaboration with Gauguin. Although the events of that night have become the stuff of legend, the facts are few. Martin Bailey pieces together the evidence for this tragic story, with the help of some major discoveries.

Vincent van Gogh was 'a stark, staring crank'. Contemporary descriptions of the artist by his friends are rare, and this example is published here for the first time in the original English. It comes from a letter written on 17 April 1888 by the American painter Dodge MacKnight (1860-1950), who was staying in the village of Fontvieille, ten kilometres north-east of Aries. He was writing to his Belgian artist friend Eugene Boch (1855-1941), who would shortly be joining him in Provence.

In the letter, MacKnight wrote that he had tracked down two artists in Aries, Christian Mourier-Petersen (1858-1945), a Dane, and 'Vincent--whom I had already met at Russell's--a stark, staring crank, but a good fellow.' (1) We also have Van Gogh's account of the encounter: he wrote--in English--to a mutual friend in Paris, the Australian artist John Russell (1858-1930), that 'last Sunday [15 April] I have met MacKnight and a Danish painter and I intend to go to see him at Fonvieille [sic] next Monday.' (2) He and MacKnight had differing opinions on modern art, and Van Gogh added: 'I feel sure I shall prefer him as an artist to what he is as an art critic[,] his views as such being so narrow that they make me smile.'

MacKnight's description of the artist is pithy--and rings true. Van Gogh inspired considerable loyalty and affection, although these qualities are all too often forgotten when we read of the rows that he had with friends. Yet he was also an awkward companion, with a cranky side to his character. On occasions, this expressed itself in most destructive ways, as Paul Gauguin would discover.

Gauguin joined Van Gogh in the Yellow House in Aries on 23 October 1888, and for two months they lived and worked under the same roof. There, they had intense discussions about art, and painted together, often tackling the

same subjects. But tensions quickly developed, and suddenly worsened in December. On 23 December 1888 Vincent severed part of his ear and presented it to a prostitute. Thus ended their collaboration.

Although the story looms large in all biographies of the two artists, there have been few serious attempts to analyse what occurred that night in Arles. (3) Some art historians may have felt the subject matter is simply too sensationalist to tackle, although understanding what happened is important in considering the works produced by the two artists during these difficult weeks. Undoubtedly, the major difficulty has been the paucity of evidence. Van Gogh appears to have remembered nothing of the evening of 23 December, (4) while Gauguin's main account is not entirely reliable. The available material therefore needs careful analysis, beginning with an incident that occurred shortly before the mutilation.

Abandonment

Gauguin claimed that Van Gogh threw a glass of absinthe at him while they were drinking in a local bar, probably the Card de la Gare. (5) This incident probably occurred around 10 December 1888. (6) The only source for the story is Gauguin's autobiographical account, Avant et Apres, written in 1903:

   I decided to do a portrait of him in
   the act of painting the still life he
   liked so much, sunflowers [Fig. 5].
   When the portrait was finished, he
   said to me: 'That is me, all right, but
   me gone mad.' That same evening
   we went to the cafe. He ordered a
   light absinthe. Suddenly he flung the
   glass and its contents in my face. I
   managed to duck and grab him, take
   him out of the cafe, and across the
   Place Victor-Hugo. (7) A few minutes
   later Vincent was in his own bed and
   in a matter of seconds had fallen
   asleep, not to awaken till morning.
   When he awoke he was perfectly
   calm and said to me: 'My dear
   Gauguin, I have a dim recollection
   that I offended you last night.'
   Reply: 'I forgive you gladly and with
   all my heart, but yesterday's scene
   might recur, and if I were to be
   struck, I might lose my self-control
   and strangle you. Allow me,
   therefore, to write to your brother
   and tell him I am coming back. (8)

[FIGURE 5 OMITTED]

The fact that Gauguin devotes nearly as many words to the subsequent conversation as to the event suggests he felt this was particularly important. In the light of subsequent developments, it appears that Van Gogh may have misinterpreted Gauguin's reference to 'strangle' him as a murder threat.

Gauguin did indeed write to Theo van Gogh, his Parisian dealer, who was financially supporting him in Aries. On about 11 December, presumably the day after the incident, he explained that he and Van Gogh 'cannot not live side by side without turmoil resulting from our f temperamental incompatibility.' (9) Van Gogh also wrote to his brother, admitting that Gauguin was 'a little out of sorts with the good town of Aries, the little yellow house where we work, and especially with me'. (10)