Reviews
The art galleries branching out – with shows about trees
At the Fondation Cartier and soon at the Hayward Gallery, art really does grow on trees
The sculptor who found favour with Lorenzo de’ Medici – Bertoldo di Giovanni at the Frick, reviewed
He is best known as the pupil of Donatello and teacher of Michelangelo, but the Florentine sculptor has more than enough accomplishments of his own
Animal instinct – George Stubbs at MK Gallery, reviewed
The painter’s forensic study of his subjects allowed him to portray them with a startling emotional depth
Has MoMA brought modernism up to date?
Man (as represented by white men) is no longer the measure of all things at the headquarters of modern art
Reign makers – Roy Strong’s guide to Elizabethan portraits, reviewed
This authoritative survey gives some of the most familiar works of English art a new lease of life
Practical magic – the Arts and Crafts designs of Ernest Gimson
A new biography shows how thoroughly the designer’s life and work were intertwined
George Herriman’s Krazy Kat – revisiting an abstruse but charming comic strip
The story of a simple-minded cat and his animal neighbours was never widely popular – but it counted E.E. Cummings and De Kooning among its fans
A Delft touch – the intricate patterns of Pieter de Hooch
The Dutch painter’s courtyard and interior scenes reveal his fascination with frames, grids and lines
Mane attraction – the star quality of Susan Sontag
For all her flaws – and love of the limelight – Sontag’s commitment to seriousness feels more necessary than ever
From the high life to the Life of Christ – James Tissot’s path to piety
On his 50th birthday the society painter set off for the Holy Land, experiencing something of a conversion
Van Dyck, the artist’s artist
An exhibition in Munich explores the less familiar aspects of the portraitist’s work, including the support he gave to his peers
Disciplinary action – ‘A History of Art History’ by Christopher S. Wood, reviewed
This wide-ranging and original study gives art historians much to think and argue about
Women looking at men looking at them – at the Frye Art Museum in Seattle
Paintings from the museum’s founding collection show the unsettling ways in which men have often represented women
Pattern and Decoration – the movement that made a leitmotif of light motif
Embracing polka dot, patchwork and plenty of colour, P&D artists set out to challenge the norms of good taste
How Rembrandt made great strides in his home town
Child prodigy he was not – but works from the painter’s youth in Leiden show that he soon made up for lost time
Style guide – how Charlotte Perriand designed the modern world
The multi-talented French architect and designer worked at the cutting edge of modernism
Theodore de Bry’s sensational approach to the New World
The engraver’s visions of a continent he never saw were designed to appeal to the European imagination
Fascism and furniture – the dystopian spaces of Henrike Naumann
Naumann’s new installation imagines an alternate past in which the German Reich was re-established after the fall of the Berlin Wall
Friars and bonfires in Renaissance Florence – Botticelli in the Fire, reviewed
What prompted Botticelli to become a follower of Savonarola? Jordan Tannahill’s arresting play casts historical accuracy aside in the quest for answers
Paper work – the British Museum shows off its collection of contemporary drawings
A selection of studies and sketches shows how the definition of drawing has happily ballooned in recent decades
Club scenes – the art of the cabaret at the Barbican
In cities across the world, the cultural avant-garde has often hunkered down – and expressed itself – in nightclubs and bars
The visionary art of Victor Willing deserves to be better known
A substantial survey at Hastings Contemporary is a rare chance to encounter the British painter’s concise, enigmatic images
In praise of Mary Beale – one of Britain’s first women artists
A biography of one of the country’s earliest professional woman painters is a fitting if belated tribute
Nicolaes Maes – the Dutch painter who made a virtue of versatility
This pupil of Rembrandt has often been mistaken for other artists, but is there an unity to be found in his many styles?
Do portraits have an image problem?