The Wrong Ear

Vincent van Gogh, the brilliant Dutch artist behind iconic works like The Starry Night and Irises, is depicted in his famous self-portrait with a bandaged ear. The twist? Van Gogh actually severed his left ear, not the right! This arises because Van Gogh used a mirror to paint himself, leading to this mix-up.

The incident of cutting off his ear, while seemingly extreme, was a reflection of his mental anguish during that period. Van Gogh’s life and art are as layered and complex as his paintings.