Features
Fossil fuelled – the sticky relationship between art and the oil industry
Cultural institutions are increasingly cutting ties with fossil fuel sponsors, but art and oil have long been intertwined in surprising ways
Acquisitions of the Month: April 2024
A luscious portrait by Johann Richard Seel and a magnificent bronze statue by Giambologna are among the most important works to have entered public collections last month
How national is the National Gallery in London?
The museum is founded on the collection of John Julius Angerstein and, 200 years later, the banker’s taste is still making itself felt
The dealer who got the Parisian avant-garde round to decorate
For his Paris apartment, Léonce Rosenberg commissioned works from the likes of Picabia and de Chirico, fusing modernism and classic French style
Meet France’s self-appointed heritage sheriff
Didier Rykner is the tireless heritage campaigner with a talent for publicity who has become a thorn in the side of the French authorities
The modern Greek wines with an ancient heritage
Wine has been part of the lifeblood of Crete since the Bronze Age – and one grower in particular is reaching back thousands of years for inspiration
The Georgian artist who was the voice of his generation
Karlo Kacharava was only 30 when he died in 1984. In Georgia, he is regarded as a one-man avant-garde and his work is now being acclaimed abroad
Why everyone loves Keith Haring
The pop artist believed that artists should make work for the masses. Decades after his death, his images are everywhere
Licence to Rome – how the Dutch got a taste for the Italian capital
Maarten van Heemskerck’s expert renderings of Rome inspired his countrymen to see the city for themselves
Beyond the Biennale – the shows to see around Venice this month
The rest of the city still has plenty to offer, from an exploration of the travels of Marco Polo to a celebration of Jean Cocteau’s genius
Must-see pavilions at the Venice Biennale 2024
From the recent history of Timor-Leste to world-building in Bulgaria, this year’s shows present a rich and varied cross-section of contemporary art from around the world
How Italy remade Willem de Kooning
At the age of 65, the artist went to Rome a painter and returned to the United States a sculptor. It wasn’t the first time the city had changed him
Fjord focus – how Ibsen inspired the art of Edvard Munch
The Norwegian painter was referring to Ibsen’s play ‘Ghosts’ when he painted his dream-like landscape of 1906
How Compton Verney stays ahead of the flock
Now 20 years old, the country house museum in Warwickshire has developed a distinctive approach to collecting – and it’s paying off handsomely
Acquisitions of the Month: March 2024
A Poussin Last Supper and a rare oil painting by Remedios Varo are among the most exciting works to have entered public collections over the last month
Who’s afraid of immersive art?
Do digital techniques to enliven familiar paintings help or hinder our understanding of the art at hand?
How to eat beans in the baroque style
A rustic painting by Annibale Carracci highlights how the act of eating in art has long been tied to class and status
What’s next for the Met?
As the Metropolitan Museum of Art enters a new era, its past decisions are still sending ripples into the present, so what does the future hold?
Rembrandt’s sorrowful Jeremiah shows the painter at his best
Koen Bulckens of the Museum of Fine Arts Antwerp explains what makes the painter’s portrait of ‘the weeping prophet’ such an emotional tour de force
Roger Hilton’s appetite for destruction
The painter’s desire for food and drink can be traced throughout a collection of obsessive shopping lists dotted with drawings
How to revive your gothic chapel
Joe Tilson’s stained-glass window in Midlothian was one of his last works and suffuses a 15th-century place of worship with just a hint of grooviness
Acquisitions of the Month: February 2024
A Chardin still life and a pair of wooden sculptures from medieval Japan are among the most important works to have entered public collections last month
Parma’s museum multiplex is now even harder to miss
The Palazzo della Pilotta contains three museums, a historic library and one of the oldest theatres in Europe – but, until its recent refurbishment, has often been overlooked
Lynda Benglis’s wearable sculptures are a perfect fit
There’s a thin but fluid line between fine art and fashion for the artist who is now making accessories for Loewe
Are the art market’s problems being blown out of proportion?