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The soothing comfort of a minimalist show and a well-timed hangover

The Observer

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December 28, 2025

I only went because I was on my way to Oxford and it was near the station.

- Marie Le Conte

I’m a busy woman; you can't get me to a gallery just to show me three things. Still, I had time to spare so I schlepped to the Wallace Collection to see Caravaggio’s Cupid. That was the whole show: one painting, two Roman statues.I prepared to be underwhelmed; I called it wrong. As someone who spends a frankly grotesque amount of time looking at art, I’ve become arguably too used to walking around, glancing at piece after piece after piece, thinking “good”, “great”, “ugh”, “fine”.

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