Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear

Vincent van Gogh rendered this Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear in January 1889, weeks after severing part of his left ear during a mental breakdown in Arles. He wears a fur cap and green coat, a bandage covering his right ear (reversed due to painting in a mirror). A Japanese print hangs on the wall behind him, reflecting his admiration for ukiyo-e art.

The incident followed a violent confrontation with Paul Gauguin, who had been staying with Van Gogh. Van Gogh delivered the severed ear to a woman at a local brothel, leading to his hospitalization. Despite the trauma, he returned to painting almost immediately, creating this remarkably calm self-examination.

Two versions exist: this one at the Courtauld Gallery in London shows him in a fur cap, while another at a private collection shows him with a pipe. Both demonstrate his determination to work through mental illness. The painting remains one of art history's most recognizable images of artistic suffering.