New revelations about Van Gogh’s infamous ‘ear incident’

[Van Gogh’s “Self-Portrait” with at least one ear fully intact/The Canadian Press]

A newly discovered note penned by one of Vincent Van Gogh’s physicians sheds new light on what is likely the most infamous moment in the artist’s tumultuous life.

In 1888, the troubled artist sliced off his ear and gave it to a prostitute. According to a recent story in the New York Times, scholars have been debating just how much of his ear he removed ever since.

The note, penned by doctor Félix Rey, who treated Van Gogh’s ear injury, seems to put the issue to rest.

Using simple line drawings, Rey depicts Van Gogh’s ear before and after the slicing, and reveals just how much he chopped off.

All of it.

The note was discovered by amateur historian Bernadette Murphy, who discovered the document in an American archive while researching a book about the painter’s later years.

Murphy spent seven years investigating the story of the artist’s ear and his troubled mind, and details her discoveries in a new book, aptly titled “Van Gogh’s Ear: The True Story.”

The note and other previously undisplayed objects detailing Van Gogh’s history of mental illness will be exhibited in a new exhibit at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam titled “On the Verge of Insanity.”

And who was the girl to whom he famously gifted the ear?

According to Murphy, the woman was actually a maid named Gabrielle.

“Keep this object carefully,” the artist told the young woman, who reportedly fainted on the spot.