Van Gogh: Images on the verge of insanity

The exhibition seeks to answer questions such as why Van Gogh cut off his ear, and the precise nature of his mental illness that made him commit suicide at the age of 37 in Auvers-sur-Oise near Paris. Here Van Gogh can be seen with a bandaged ear in Emile Schuffenecker's "Man with a Pipe" from 1892-1900, which is exhibited in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

A fascinating exhibition piece is a recently-discovered letter from Felix Rey to American writer Irving Stone. The doctor treated Van Gogh after he cut off his left ear while living in Arles. The letter includes drawings showing that Van Gogh cut off his entire left ear and not, as was long believed, just part of it. The letter can be seen in the Bancroft Library of the University of California.

Van Gogh's portrait of Rey is on display for the first time at the museum, as well as some previously unexhibited documents about his illness. The doctor's letter was recently found by amateur historian and author Bernadette Murphy, while researching her book on Van Gogh. The painting of Dr Félix Rey from January 1889 is normally on display in the State Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow.

The exhibition offers a range of diagnoses throughout the years for Van Gogh's mental illness. However, "an unambiguous and definitive answer to the question of his precise illness cannot be given," the museum stresses. Pictured is Vincent van Gogh's "The Garden of the Asylum," from November - December 1889, where Van Gogh had voluntarily admitted himself.

The Van Gogh Museum is organizing a symposium on Van Gogh's illness, to coincide with the exhibition. It will mostly deal with the question whether there is a relationship between madness and creativity. Pictured here is Van Gogh's "Entrance to a Quarry" from July 1889, which is a part of the exhibition.

In the final 18 months of his life, Van Gogh was plagued by a sporadic and unpredictable illness. Each episode left the artist confused and unable to work for day or weeks. Between the attacks, he continued to paint and draw. His work seems to have been the best remedy in his struggle with his illness. Pictured is his "Wheatfield with a Reaper" from September 1889, part of the exhibition.

The exhibition "On the Verge of Insanity" tries to show that Van Gogh's art "ought not to be viewed as a product of his illness, but arose in spite of his condition," the museum says about this unique exhibition. Pictured here is Van Gogh's final painting from July 1890, "Tree Roots," which is also part of the exhibition.

One of the most interesting exhibition pieces is a revolver believed to have been the weapon Van Gogh used to shoot himself. The artist shot himself in the chest on July 27, 1890 but managed to stumble back to the inn before succumbing to his wound 30 hours later. At the time the suicide weapon was not found. Around 1960, a farmer discovered a rusty gun in the fields where Van Gogh shot himself.

The limited firepower of the revolver offers a possible explanation for why a bullet fired at such close range glanced off a rib. The bullet was deflected downwards and was lodged too deep to be removed without danger, as a result of which Van Gogh died of his wound some 30 hours later. Pictured is the funeral card for the death of Vincent van Gogh from July 1890.