Kriitikon katse (’The Critic’s Gaze’) is a collection of essays about time and melancholy by the art historian and critic Marja-Terttu Kivirinta. Kivirinta reflects on the process through which the past and memories become part of the future by combining art historical analysis with personal, autobiographical contemplations overshadowed by the presence of illness and death.. The essays discuss specific artists – from Outi Heiskanen to Marjatta Tapiola and Tuija Lindström – as well as individual works and exhibitions. The texts frequently refer to the author’s visits to exhibitions both in Finland and abroad, especially in Paris and the Venice Biennale, which formed part of her work as a culture reporter for Helsingin Sanomat from 1978 to 2008. The essays paint an intriguing portrait of a writer who also carved out a long, distinguished career as a critic and art historian. The book’s central trope is Paul Klee’s Angelus Novus (1920), a painting that is curiously intertwined with 20th century modern art and cultural history and has fascinated the writer for years.