Abstract
This study proposed that viewers’ experiential accounts of shedding tears in art museums in their blog narratives can help understand the distinctive characteristics of the tear-shedding experience in visual arts. This study systematically examined 34 accounts of shedding tears from blog narratives following a phenomenological approach. It identified recurrent themes ( constituents) and clustered them into three groups according to theme profile similarities. During the moment of tears from sudden overwhelming stimulation ( Cluster II), an apparent bidirectional empathic process emerged when viewers shed tears during visual art appreciation. Viewers could empathize with the world depicted in the artwork ( Cluster III) and felt understood when they encountered their innermost selves through it ( Cluster I). The study's findings offer a compelling basis for empirically identifying the meaning of the tear-shedding experience from visual arts in the fine art domain while integrating previous studies.
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