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On the phone with Jerry Saltz,Schnabeladdressed a few common myths.
True or False?
He was crazy.
If you really look at [van Goghs] paintings, theyre not the works of a madman.
He died a failure.
False: I didnt think he was failed artist.
He was doing exactly what he wanted to do, and success is not measured by sales or money.
The reward is making the work, not other people agreeing with you.
So I felt it was important for people to know that he was not unknown.
Paul Gauguin was his enemy.
Brice Marden and I have been friends for 40 years.
Weve had some funny run-ins, but ultimately theres a lot of love and respect there.
It meant loads to van Gogh that Gauguin wanted to exchange a painting with him.
He was anti-social.
True: I think he had a difficult time with people.
He was very focused on one thing.
And he probably did have moments where he blacked out, where he couldnt remember things.
