A German museum has put on display a copy of Vincent van Gogh’s ear that was grown using genetic material provided by one of the 19th-century Dutch artist’s living relatives.
Artist Diemut Strebe made the replica at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital using living cells from Lieuwe van Gogh, the great-great-grandson of Vincent’s brother Theo. Lieuwe and Vincent van Gogh share about 1/16th of the same genes, including the Y-chromosome that is passed down the male lineage.
Using a 3D-printer, the cells were shaped to resemble the ear that Vincent van Gogh is said to have cut off during a psychotic episode in 1888, two years prior to his death in 1890.
“I use science basically like a type of brush, like Vincent used paint,” Strebe told The Associated Press in a telephone interview Tuesday.
The U.S.-based artist said the ear is being kept alive inside a case containing a nourishing liquid and could theoretically last for years.
Convincing Lieuwe van Gogh to take part was easy. “He loved the project right away,” said Strebe.
The original plan was to use genetic material that belonged to van Gogh himself. But DNA extracted from an envelope turned out to belong to someone else. “The postman messed it up,” Strebe joked….
Every Thursday is #3dthursday here at Adafruit! The DIY 3D printing community has passion and dedication for making solid objects from digital models. Recently, we have noticed electronics projects integrated with 3D printed enclosures, brackets, and sculptures, so each Thursday we celebrate and highlight these bold pioneers!
Have you considered building a 3D project around an Arduino or other microcontroller? How about printing a bracket to mount your Raspberry Pi to the back of your HD monitor? And don’t forget the countless LED projects that are possible when you are modeling your projects in 3D!
The Adafruit Learning System has dozens of great tools to get you well on your way to creating incredible works of engineering, interactive art, and design with your 3D printer! We also offer the LulzBot TAZ – Open source 3D Printer and the Printrbot Simple Metal 3D Printer in our store. If you’ve made a cool project that combines 3D printing and electronics, be sure to let us know, and we’ll feature it here!
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Python for Microcontrollers – Adafruit Daily — Python on Microcontrollers Newsletter: CircuitPython 2025 Wraps, Focus on Using Python, Open Source and More! #CircuitPython #Python #micropython @ThePSF @Raspberry_Pi
EYE on NPI – Adafruit Daily — EYE on NPI Maxim’s Himalaya uSLIC Step-Down Power Module #EyeOnNPI @maximintegrated @digikey
