Vincent Willem Van Gogh was one of the most influential post-Impressionist artists of his time. He created a variety of paintings in his life, especially in his final years before committing suicide after years of mental illness and ill health. From the first days he suffered from depression. After moving to London he isolated himself and turned to painting as a way of worrying. For much of his life he lived in poverty, smoking and drinking heavily. Despite all this, he persevered with his creative work, taking further exams to improve himself, even though this may have caused him additional stress. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay He was often involved in altercations and fights due to his unconventional manner and style. It is this turbulent life that has led to one of many dramatic episodes, one of which is self-mutilation. It is believed that Van Gogh began hearing voices and then took a razor to stop the voices and cut off his ear. His state of mind was very disturbed at the time, he wrapped his ear in a sheet of paper and sent it to a prostitute who had been visiting. Van Gogh is believed to have had a psychotic episode, a complete nervous breakdown and was diagnosed with "acute mania and generalized delirium". After some hospital treatment, Van Gogh continued although he continued to suffer from depression, hallucinations and delusions. Along with overwork, poor nutrition, insomnia, he had many speculative diagnoses including bipolar disorder, acute intermittent porphyria, temporal lobe epilepsy. Despite this he continued to paint, his illness having a significant effect on his work, highlighting both his emotional expression and creative brilliance. Van Gogh produced many portraits in his time as an artist. One in particular of interest is a self-portrait of himself with a bandaged ear that he painted after his episode of self-mutilation. The emphasis on the blindfold highlights how significant this event was to him and painting this was a form of self-expression. His facial expression is gloomy, his skin tone is yellowish green. His image is a mirror image of himself, as if he doubts himself. Vincent Van Gogh - Self-Portrait with Bandaged Ear (1989) His portraits were "unflinching" and "physiognomic" created mostly during introspective and reflective periods, often emphasizing the high level of self-evaluation and examination to which he subjected himself. This is evident in his gaze which is directed slightly away from the viewer. His appearance in this portrait is that of someone unstable and unkempt, with a long beard, sunken eyes and jaw. He uses bright colors to express his mood, particularly yellow and green which he says symbolize "emotional truth". In his writings he referred to his "anguished state of mind" and the "fatality of circumstances". Van Gogh was considered a tragic failure and a madman his entire life. On July 27, 1890, he shot himself in the chest with a revolver. His self-mutilation and self-portrait were in fact signs of serious self-harm and suicidal tendencies. In fact it took him 30 hours to die from his point-blank gunshot - a slow, painful self inflicted a painful death on him. It has been since his death that critics have worked to understand his psychological state and the impact this had on his work. His illness was seen as an obstacle to his work, he was often disengaged for long periods and this prevented him from reaching his full potential. Yet many have suggested that it was his artwork that kept him sane and that was.