tebop opened this issue on May 15, 2007 · 86 posts
XENOPHONZ posted Wed, 16 May 2007 at 5:29 PM
It's interesting to note that the "world's oldest woman", Jeanne Calment-- who had known Vincent van Gogh personally when she was a teenager -- didn't like him.
In 1985, Calment moved into a nursing home, having lived on her own until age 110. However, she did not gain international fame until 1988, when the centenary of Vincent van Gogh's visit to Arles provided an occasion to meet reporters. She said that at age 14, she met van Gogh in her father's shop, later describing him as "dirty, badly dressed and disagreeable."
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanne_Calment
It's a lot easier to like someone who you never actually knew. I suspect that van Gogh himself wouldn't have been a pleasure to be around.