Louvre Historian: Van Gogh Cut Off Ear in Naval Grooming Standards Protest

From the desk of the Editor of the Haute Culture here at The Subpar Group.

While popular theories posit that the Dutch Post-Impressionist artist Vincent Van Gogh famously cut off his ear and left it at a brothel due to a psychotic episode, French art historian Jacques Laurent has uncovered new documents suggesting a different story: that it was an act of protest against the stringent grooming standards of the Dutch navy.

Previously unopened letters written by Van Gogh to his mother held at the Louvre Museum in Paris, France, show that during his two-year conscription in the Dutch navy, Marinier der 2e Klasse Van Gogh was often berated by chiefs for poor grooming standards and doodling while on watch.

The incident in question occurred in December 1888 when a chief noticed a lock of Van Gogh’s hair touching his ear, contrary to NDRNAVPERS 15665J Artikel 2201.2.(b).3. The chief canceled Van Gogh’s holiday leave and instead assigned him to duty on Christmas Day, facts Laurent was able to corroborate with the deck logs of the HNLMS De Ruyter at the Dutch Naval Archives.

A furious Van Gogh then wrote to his mother that “I can’t be out of regs if I don’t have ears!” Given this new evidence, Laurent believes Van Gogh then brought his severed ear to the brothel in an attempt to throw it at his chief, knowing that the brothel was his favorite liberty destination.

Laurent also noted that the ship’s Korpsmaan prescribed Van Gogh two doses of Motrin for the injury, with no limited duty status granted

Not everyone is buying Laurent’s theory, however. Jan Pieter, a curator at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, has a different idea. “I think Van Gogh was really just scheming to maximize his Dutch VA disability benefits,” Pieter said. He noted that the Dutch Naval Archives show that Van Gogh failed his next audiogram following the incident.

Whatever the truth may be, the grooming standards remain in place still today. However, the Dutch Navy regulations at least allowed Van Gogh to keep his beard during his service.