When Vincent van Gogh cut off his own left ear in a moment of madness more than a century ago, he wanted it to make a big impact.
However, even the great artist could not have anticipated that his severed organ — wrapped up and delivered to a French brothel — would be grown afresh and put on display a year later.
But now, thanks to new technology, a replica has been generated by a 3D-printer from genetic material donated by one of van Gogh’s living relatives.
Lieuwe van Gogh, the great-great-grandson of Vincent’s brother Theo, donated cartilege from his own ear, which was replicated by the machine into an accurate re-creation.
The Center for Art and Media in Karlsruhe, Germany, grew the ear in a U.S. hospital and are keeping it in a biological preservative, Daily Mail informs.
