Van Gogh’s Claustrophobia

Van Gogh's Claustophobia

Srdjan Krstic, Princeton Class of 2009

Why did van Gogh cut off his ear? No clean answer to this question exists, despite the facts that it is has been excessively researched by art historians and that the majority of van Gogh's correspondence with his family and friends is saved. There just still isn't an ultimate explanation of why van Gogh decided to blemish himself in such a way. Many speculations exist, and they all agree that van Gogh was mentally ill by the time of the incident. But, is there nothing more than just a rigorous medical explanation of his state of mind? What happened that led him to this mental breakdown? The ear-cutting episode happened at the very end of Vincent's stay in Arles. Knowing the circumstances in van Gogh's life at the moment, and taking the works he created at the time into a close examination, it is possible to provide an insight on what actually knocked van Gogh down and inspired him to act in such a way. In the paintings he created during a short period preceding the incident, by progressively showing claustrophobia he shows also a clear progression in his own isolation and alienation from the society, which ultimately dispirited him. But to understand the meaning of claustrophobia in van Gogh's paintings, we first have to have a good idea of what happened in his personal life during the period he stayed in Arles. These paintings suggest his increasing sense of claustrophobia which is in my opinion what lead him to become mentally ill. It is the solitude and alienation from the society that he depicted in his paintings in that very sense of incerasing claustrophobia.

The Exhibit
Context
How it all started - the Cafes
The lonely chairs
Finally boxed in the claustrophobic metaphorical box
Conclusion

Works Cited
About the Author

The Gallery
Non-Euclidean space
Van Gogh's deadly portrait
The Aftermath
Other Theories