I began as artist that disdained Van Gogh while all my fellow students loved him. I very slowly have come to admire his work ... (about 10% of his late oils) for the design and composition. I still admire those yet I don't know how open-minded my assessment ever can be. I've read his letters to Theo etc. I do think that my own fondness for design and sensitivity to it had increased at the same time as my appreciation for him has. This must be correlated to some degree.
Sometimes it is easiest to appreciate design and composition when other aspects of paintings are absent. Indeed no-one raves about Vinny's drawing or aerial perspective for example. Conversely, I think this is why few people appreciate Sargent or Bouguereau's compositional skills; there's so much else to like.
