Vincent Van Gogh’s relationship with Paul Gauguin, very well documented, was strained to say the least. They had a very short time together, a time that would end badly and prove to be agonizing for Van Gogh.  

After weeks of attempts by letters to engage artists to join him in Arles, France, for what he perceived and imagined a utopia, an artist colony where the conversation would revolve around nothing but creating works, Van Gogh had one response in the positive. It was from Paul Gauguin. (It has been noted that the yes came only after the promise of financial support from Van Gogh’s brother Theo. Theo knew of Vincent’s struggle to encourage artists to join him.) 

It also has been well documented that Vincent’s disposition was to wrangle. He did not have the ability to keep friends. People simply did not understand why he was so incredibly combative. Part of the reason for leaving Paris and setting up in Arles, was that police officers would not allow Vincent to paint on the public streets due to fights that would break out between Van Gogh and the casual critic/passersby. 

After accepting, Gauguin made Vincent wait. It went on for quite some time. It did give Vincent days to fuss about, fixing up a space for Gauguin. It gave him time to create works for Paul’s arrival…Sunflowers. Gauguin would list the reasons for the delay in correspondence of illness and family issues. Yet when Gauguin finally showed, robust and full of life, it was such a relief to Vincent, that he embraced his new friend without comment. 

Sunflowers by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889

Nine weeks. It was nine weeks of disagreements and, at least once, landed fists. One could only speculate that Vincent’s disposition could not have been helped by an addiction to absinth, the habit of wetting his brushes in his mouth which could have led to lead poisoning, and the suffering of the well documented case of Syphilis that plagued many of his class. Gauguin had had enough. 

When Gauguin decided to leave it was devastating for Vincent. He felt it was his last chance to find colleague and cohabitation that had alluded him for his whole life. Distraught, he took it out on himself in a very apparent way, one of self-mutilation. A way that did not end his life, but would be a clear and obvious outcry of the abandonment that he felt. He severed his ear, packed it in cloth, and went to a brothel that he and Gauguin frequented. He asked after his friend, and was told he wasn’t there. Gauguin was already on a train and out of the area. 

Portrait of Doctor Rey by Vincent Van Gogh, 1889

After the incident, Vincent was sent to, and under the care of Dr. Felix Rey. He was treated kindly and fairly and given a great amount of positive attention that impressed Van Gogh. In exchange for his kindness, Vincent painted a portrait of Dr. Rey. The doctor accepted it with grace but did not like the painting. The doctor’s mother, also not impressed with the work, used it to patch a hole in her chicken coop. It stayed there until it was spotted and purchased by an artist in 1901 for a very modest sum. The current value of the painting is $50 Million dollars. ⬥

Images sourced from the Van Gogh Museum and the Pushkin Museum

Kevin Boehm is the Founder of Grand Rapids Artists Bureau. He has been working in the world of visual art for over 35 years and finds fascinating the past, present, and the promise of the future of visual art in our community. Kevin credits the research of others that have provided the insights into the lives of such important and interesting individuals; Artists that create(d), sometimes, such iconic imagery.