ART + HISTORY
Here it’s polite to stare
When we look closely at a work of art, we take with us something we didn’t have before. We carry with us the artist’s way of looking at the world. Why is this valuable? Because it expands our appreciation for the beauty and diversity of human experience. I hope you enjoy The Shy Museumgoer – named one of the “20 best art history blogs and websites to follow in 2026.” You keep reading, I’ll keep writing.
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When Kandinsky moved mountains
Extraordinary breakthroughs often take unusual routes. See how Wassily Kandinsky harnessed the emotional power of music to pioneer abstract art, a universal language for expressing spirituality and raw emotion.
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Fra Angelico: The devil is in the details
At the dawn of the Renaissance, when art was awakening to new possibilities, Fra Angelico emerged as the first Italian painter to transmit the innermost feelings of his characters directly to the viewer.
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Toulouse-Lautrec at the blue cabaret
Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec is one of the most successful artists of La Belle Époque (The Beautiful Era) in Paris. Yet his most compelling paintings express empathy for people who felt like outsiders.
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RenĂ© Magritte’s unthinkable thoughts
In the tragic aftermath of World War I, Magritte turned his back on traditional Academic history painting. Instead, the Belgian artist shows us life’s ambiguities, depicted in witty and thought-provoking ways.
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Chardin: The great painter of childhood
Take a moment to enjoy these remarkable portrayals of childhood by Jean Siméon Chardin. He takes quiet moments that slip by unnoticed and turns them into paintings that embody the spirit of the Enlightenment.
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The baffling paintings of Paul CĂ©zanne
I’m at odds with historians who describe the hugely influential paintings of Post-Impressionist Paul CĂ©zanne as famously silent or emotionally detached. To my eye, nothing could be further from the truth.
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Rare but beautiful: The art of snow
You rarely see snowflakes in an art museum painting. So I tip my warmest hat to these six artists who accepted the challenge. They transformed fleeting moments of wintry beauty into timeless works of art.
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Miriam Schapiro: Feminism in pieces
The Women’s Rights Movement was a defining moment for Schapiro. She invented femmage, a unique form of “feminist collage” that integrates paint with pieces of fabric torn from women’s own stories.
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Thiebaud’s love affair with paint
American artist Wayne Thiebaud paints cakes and freeways, two risky subjects because the art world takes itself very seriously. “There is room for wit,” he said. “Humor gives us a sense of perspective.”