Vincent van Gogh, born in 1853 in Zundert, the Netherlands, was a post-impressionist painter and is considered one of the most influential figures in the history of Western art.
During his active decade, he created several thousand works of art, of which only about twenty he managed to sell in his lifetime in exchange for food. Today, the works often cost over half a billion pieces.
Anyone unfamiliar with Van Gogh’s paintings has probably heard of his tragic fate, fraught with mental illness and alcohol abuse. He suffered from psychotic episodes and delusions, and was admitted to a mental hospital where productivity increased even more.
In 1890, van Gogh took his own life, only 37 years old, by firing a revolver into his own chest.
Over a hundred years later, it is discussed whether it was a suicide or a dangerous shot by someone else. The same goes for the story of the severed earlobe, whether he did it on himself with a razor blade or whether it was the painter Paul Gaugin who did it during a fight.