WAS VAN GOGH'S EAR A VICTIM OF DISEASE?(CAPITAL REGION)

Byline: MARTIN BAILEY London Observer Service

Vincent van Gogh may have cut off his ear in a shaving accident while suffering from a serious liver disease, according to a new study.

Taking a fresh look at what made the artist go mad, Professor Wilfred Arnold, a biochemist at the University of Kansas, re-examines and revises the evidence of Van Gogh's mental instability in a new book, "Vincent van Gogh: Chemicals, Crises and Creativity."

For example, he says that although Van Gogh normally had a beard, he shaved it off a few weeks before the ear incident. He cites as evidence the self-portrait which Van Gogh painted in the autumn of 1888, …