Abstract. Vincent van Gogh is viewed today as a great artist and an indisputable genius. However, his paintings were utterly rejected by his contemporaries and sold as scraps at a flea market. The growth of popularity of van Gogh's paintings over time begs for an explanation in terms of the management of innovation. Scholars of the diffusion of technology generally explain the acceptance of a novel idea or innovation in terms of psychological, cultural and social factors. This chapter goes beyond these factors and explains the failure of accepting a novel idea in terms of intersubjective understanding. In particular, this study uses a phenomenological approach to explain why van Gogh's paintings were rejected by his contemporaries but have gained recognition over time. This chapter concludes that the subjectivist approach is a useful alternative to understanding innovation in artwork in particular, and innovation management in general.

Introduction: The Tragic Life of Vincent van Gogh

Today, Vincent van Gogh (1853–1890)1 is viewed as a great artist and an indisputable genius. Sadly as it be, van Gogh's career life is a tragedy. Though he produced an incredible number of masterpieces that live for the rest of human history, his paintings were sold as scraps at Breda flea market for around five cents in 1903.2 During his short but turbulent life, he sold only one painting for 400 francs, just four months before his death (Butterfield 1998). Unlike van Gogh, another celebrated painter, Pablo Picasso's talent was recognized quickly and accepted by the community during his lifetime. Both Picasso and van Gogh were geniuses in painting. We may ask why there is such a contrast in acceptance. Yu (2008) offer an explanation of the acceptance of Picasso’s creativity based on phenomenology.