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Van Gogh mutilates his ear in Arles on 23–24 December 1888 and is hospitalised

On 23–24 December 1888 Van Gogh mutilated his ear in Arles and was hospitalised. In the causal graph this event weakens Health-System Capacity, a driver that strengthens Hospital beds (per 1,000 people) — a worsening welfare path.

Van Gogh mutilates his ear in Arles on 23–24 December 1888 and is hospitalised
Read the full account

On 23–24 December 1888 Van Gogh mutilated his ear in Arles and was hospitalised. The instrument is that injury-and-admission. Vincent van Gogh's documented role is: He injured himself. Hospital physicians treated him. Later ear-gift anecdotes vary. High on hospitalisation, medium on the exact gift story.

Context

Named hospital staff treated him. Sharing that ward is required. Gauguin's quarrel remains the previous day's polar row. The setting of Van Gogh mutilates his ear in Arles on 23–24 December 1888 and is hospitalised is the public file around 1888-12-24. Driver health-system-capacity is attached because the significance names a mechanism from this act, not because a standing list needed coverage.

If a number is not in the two records named above, it is not supplied here.

Why it matters

Worsening path from Van Gogh mutilates his ear in Arles on 23–24 December 1888 and is hospitalised on 1888-12-24. The welfare reading on this path is worsening.

Later competitions, monuments, translations, UNESCO listings, museums, and adaptations are not converted into extra lifetime acts.

Who was responsible

Contribution type and responsibility level for each recorded actor — not sole-author shorthand.

  • Vincent van Gogh

    Person

    Direct responsibility

    responsibility level 0.44 · verified

    He injured himself. Hospital physicians treated him. Later ear-gift anecdotes vary. High on hospitalisation, medium on the exact gift story.

What changed

Fact → Driver → Indicator. Relationship strength orders the paths; it is not the observed indicator movement.

    1. FactVan Gogh mutilates his ear in Arles on 23–24 December 1888 and is hospitalised
    2. weakensDriverHealth-System Capacity
    3. strengthensIndicators (2)Hospital beds (per 1,000 people)
    Worsening path

    impact weight 0.4 · Effect from 24 December 1888 · verified

    • Hospital beds (per 1,000 people)

      via Health-System Capacity

      Worse

      Strengthens · Relationship strength 0.24 (weight 0.4 × strength 0.6)

      Observed

      3.08 Per 1000 people · 1.24 below the normal line (2023)

      Worse than normal

      6 readings, 2018–2023: rose from 3.07 Per 1000 people to 3.08 Per 1000 people.

      Above normal = better

    • Under-five mortality rate (global)

      via Health-System Capacity

      Worse

      Weakens · Relationship strength 0.2 (weight 0.4 × strength 0.5)

      Observed

      37.4 deaths per 1,000 live births · 12.4 above the normal line (2024)

      Worse than normal

      7 readings, 2018–2024: fell from 40 deaths per 1,000 live births to 37.4 deaths per 1,000 live births.

      Above normal = worse

Evidence

The sources behind this fact and its verification state.

Verified2 sources on file
  1. 1.Britannica — Vincent van Gogh, Goupil neighbourhoodEncyclopaedia Britannica · High credibility · verified
  2. 2.Van Gogh Museum — Vincent's life chronologyVan Gogh Museum · High credibility · verified
What the sources establish

Official locator: Van Gogh Museum — the ear incident neighbourhood at https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/art-and-stories/vincents-life-1853-1890 (opens in a new tab) (Van Gogh Museum). Independent locator: Britannica — Vincent van Gogh, breakdown in Arles at https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vincent-van-Gogh (opens in a new tab) (Encyclopaedia Britannica). Official carrier: Van Gogh Museum — the ear incident neighbourhood (https://www.vangoghmuseum.nl/en/art-and-stories/vincents-life-1853-1890 (opens in a new tab); Van Gogh Museum). Independent carrier: Britannica — Vincent van Gogh, breakdown in Arles (https://www.britannica.com/biography/Vincent-van-Gogh (opens in a new tab); Encyclopaedia Britannica).

Established: a sourced public record of Van Gogh mutilates his ear in Arles on 23–24 December 1888 and is hospitalised under 1888-12-24 for Vincent van Gogh. Established: a sourced public record of Van Gogh mutilates his ear in Arles on 23–24 December 1888 and is hospitalised under 1888-12-24.

That reading is an impact-path choice, not a property stored on the Fact itself.

Confidence is stated on the impact path, not hidden in adjectives. The neighbour petition is a later 1889 civic row. Mixed effects of Van Gogh mutilates his ear in Arles on 23–24 December 1888 and is hospitalised are separate paths.

Shared responsibility is part of Van Gogh mutilates his ear in Arles on 23–24 December 1888 and is hospitalised. Naming Vincent van Gogh does not delete co-authors, institutions, or later transmitters. The lag from 1888-12-24 to any measured indicator is not treated as zero. Alternative explanations — weather, other armies, later statutes, or independent cultural change — remain live where the sources do not close them.

Causal path

How this event connects to drivers and indicators in the graph.

  1. ActorVincent van Gogh
  2. contributed toFactVan Gogh mutilates his ear in Arles on 23–24 December 1888 and is hospitalised
  3. weakensDriverHealth-System Capacity
  4. strengthensIndicatorHospital beds (per 1,000 people)

Cite this page

Factrail. (2026). Van Gogh mutilates his ear in Arles on 23–24 December 1888 and is hospitalised. Factrail. https://factrail.ai/facts/vg-ear

https://factrail.ai/facts/vg-ear

Accessed 15 October 2026.

By the Factrail desk · Method: how we source and score · Last reviewed

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