science

Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear

Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear rather than just read about it. In short: Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear is an 1889 self-portrait by Dutch Post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh. The painting is in the collection of the Courtauld Institute of Art and on display in the Gallery at Somerset House.

Key takeaways

Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear is an 1889 self-portrait by Dutch Post-Impressionist artist Vincent van Gogh. The painting is in the collection of the Courtauld Institute of Art and on display in the Gallery at Somerset House. The painting includes inspiration from Japanese woodblock printing.

About the painting

In this self-portrait, Van Gogh portrays himself in a blue cap with black fur and a green overcoat with a bandage covering his ear and extending under his chin. Behind him is an open window, a canvas on an easel, with a few indistinguishable marks, as well as a Japanese woodblock print, Geishas in a Landscape made by Satō Torakiyo in the 1870s. The fur cap pictured in the portrait serves as a memory of the difficult working circumstances he encountered in January 1889. The cap had been recently purchased to keep his heavy bandage in place and protect him from the winter cold. Van Gogh used Impasto painting strokes, a technique where paint is laid thickly on a surface to show marks of the Painting knife, to give the composition more energy and passion. He was inspired by Adolphe Monticelli's use of impasto in his own paintings as illustrated by the letter he wrote to his brother, Theo, in 1888. Van Gogh had moved from Paris to Arles to establish a community of supportive artists called the Studio of the South. After renting four rooms in The Yellow House, he invited Paul Gauguin to join him. On evening of 23 December 1888, Gauguin threatened to leave and Van Gogh approached him with a razor. Later that night, he sliced off his own left ear, which is not apparent in the portrait since he used a mirror to paint it, making it seem like the right ear is bandaged instead, and brought it to a prostitute in Arles named Rachel. When she got the severed ear, Rachel became distressed and called the police to arrest Van Gogh for lunacy.

History In a 17 January 1889 letter to his brother Theo, Van Gogh mentioned he had made a new self-portrait, which is believed to be this one. At the time of Van Gogh's death, this painting was in the possession of Julien (Père) Tanguy, although it was unclear how he had obtained it. Tanguy had posed twice for Van Gogh in 1887. It was exhibited in Paris 1901 and 1905 in a major Van Gogh retrospective. In 1928 Samuel Courtauld purchased it and it is currently in the collection of the Courtauld Gallery in London.

Japanese art influence The art of woodblock printing in Japan was of great influence for Van Gogh as he was a big collector of many Japanese pieces. Throughout his lifetime, he had collected hundreds of Japanese prints, including Geishas in a Landscape by Torakiyo Sato, which was then used as inspiration for the copy in the background of this portrait. Van Gogh's interest in Japanese art guided him to modernize his own art style. He enjoyed the bold colors and spatial effects of the Japanese prints which prompted him to start using them in all of his work including this portrait.

See also List of works by Vincent van Gogh

References

Illustrations

Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear: Geishas in a Landscape, 1870s Japanese print, a partial copy of which is on the wall in the painting — Geishas in a Landscape, 1870s Japanese print, a partial copy of which is on the wall in the painting

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear

In research: Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1889 paintings, Oil paintings on canvas, Paintings by Vincent van Gogh, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear in simple terms?

Why does Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear.