Vincent van Gogh died on July 29, 1890 from a gunshot wound to his belly he sustained approximately 30 hours earlier on July 27. In 2011, art historians, Stephen Naifeh and Gregory White Smith, questioned the improbability that van Gogh committed suicide. Through their research, they concluded that Vincent’s death was an accidental shooting by two teenagers. Their conclusion provoked much debate in the academic art community as to what Vincent’s true fate was. To address this dilemma, Dr. Vincent J. M. Di Maio, an expert forensic pathologist, was brought into the argument in 2013 to have a more focused look at the problem by applying modern forensics to the analysis. After examining the limited available wound information, Dr. Di Maio concluded that it was not possible for Vincent to shoot himself in the abdomen. His findings were based on Vincent’s wound description lacking a black powder burn. This study supports Dr. Di Maio, Stephen Naifeh and Gregory White Smith’s controversial murder theory by showing the importance of the presence of a black powder burn surrounding the entry wound. Results from firing the same model revolver that allegedly killed Vincent from various ranges, demonstrated that within a reasonable degree of medical probability, it was no probable (and maybe logistically impossible) for Vincent van Gogh to shoot himself.
