Vincent van Gogh has become much more than just a painter. Outside of his paintings, when people think of van Gogh they think of his ear - … Dutch painter Vincent van Gogh, suffering from severe depression, cuts off the lower part of his left ear with a razor while staying in Arles, France.

He has become the image of a “tortured artist.” His fame is due to his painting, of course, but it is his life that took him beyond a famous painter and made him a legend. Van Gogh, meanwhile, delivered the severed ear to a prostitute and then staggered home, where police discovered him the following day, the new account claims.