Here are two partially false myths about the great painter. Firstly, most people believe that Van Gogh's work was completely unrecognized and underestimated during his lifetime. In fact, his work was praised in Le Mercure de France, a French gazette and literary magazine. Once even Monet said that Van Gogh's paintings were the best in Les Vingt, an exhibition of avant-garde painters in Belgium. The other myth is about Van Gogh's ear -- he did cut it off, but not the whole ear, just a part of it. An interesting fact is that he cut off part of his left ear, but his right ear was bandaged in the famous "Self Portrait with Bandaged Ear." An explanation could be that he was looking himself in the mirror and painted what he saw.
