Answer of the DayWhy did Van Gogh cut off his ear? Vincent van Gogh was a brilliant but emotionally troubled artist who suffered from depression and
epileptoid seizures. He spent a particularly prolific and successful year in
Arles, France; in October 1888, his friend and fellow painter
Paul Gauguin joined him there. After a couple of months, though, the two began arguing. After one particularly bitter quarrel, Gauguin left Arles, and in a fit of anger and remorse, on this date in 1888, Van Gogh sliced off the lower half of his left ear with a razor. Though he was under doctors' care, Van Gogh's turbulent behavior didn't improve. In July 1890, after arguing with one of his physicians, he shot himself in the chest. Van Gogh died two days later. He had produced over a thousand paintings and drawings, but only managed to sell one in his lifetime.
Word of the Day
chocolate-box
(CHO-kuh-lit boks, CHOK-lit -)
adjective
Having a romanticized beautiful image; stereotypically pretty.
Etymology
From the kind of pictures often seen on boxes of chocolate.
Usage
"But to accept that is merely to endorse a patronising, chocolate-box image of the country — to see it all as pretty lanes, thatched cottages and rosy-cheeked lasses milking cows — and to turn a blind eye to the reality of rural life today." — Anna Morrell; An Everyday Tale of Randy Rural Folk; Western Mail (Cardiff, Wales); Nov 9 2006.
Weekly theme
Desserts used metaphorically
