Art history deep dives with The Lonely Palette

👂 Sometimes truly appreciating a painting requires more than looking — this is what The Lonely Palette invites its audience to do. The art history podcast asks you to look with your ears and learn about the intricacies of great art works. Creator and host Tamar Avishai, an art historian with a mission to “return art history to the masses, one object at a time,” shares her passion and her own special insights as a lecturer at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.

The podcast takes place on the ground, from the heart of the Museum of Fine Arts — though it is not affiliated with the institution — where, at the beginning of each episode, Avishai invites passersby to share their own thoughts and observations about an episode’s chosen art piece. Avishai investigates not only paintings, but famous statues, performance pieces, and exhibition objects. From Roman painters to Vincent Van Gogh to Yoko Ono, the episodes span the classics and the modern, the American and the Japanese, and the Renaissance and the pop art movement.

One episode explores the famous 1485 Sandro Botticelli painting The Birth of Venus. In thirty minutes, Avishai takes us on an immersive journey of the influential Renaissance piece, citing insights from critics across history and modern interpretations. She probes the meaning of the enigmatic painting, noting its abstract nature and its departure from hyperrealistic depictions of human anatomy characteristic of Italian Renaissance art at the time. Avishai reveals fun facts about the iconic work, namely that it was the first Tuscan painting on canvas instead of wood and that it was painted with actual gold.

The Lonely Palette is the podcast for true art history nerds. Avishai’s evident passion for the subject is infectious and makes each episode all the more exciting. Her blend of academic references and laymen’s observations build immersive episodes, leaving you more intrigued and curious to learn even more about each work. The podcast is a testament of art history’s ability to uncover meanings in art works that endure across time.

WHERE TO LISTEN- You can tune in on Apple Podcasts | Amazon Music | Podbean | Spotify | Soundcloud | TuneIn | YouTube Music.