Apollo

Could Sex and the City’s Charlotte hack it in today’s art world?

Photo: Getty Images

Charlotte York-Goldenblatt stepped away from her career in the original series, but perhaps she’s ready to return to the white cube in this year’s reboot?

Period pieces – the fashion for putting dates on domestic objects

Delftware plate (1661). The Bryan Collection, Lake Bluff, Illinois.

From commemorative wares to ordinary utensils, inscribing dates on household objects was once common practice

Jennifer Packer’s paintings pack a punch at the Serpentine

Blessed Are Those Who Mourn (Breonna! Breonna!) (detail; 2020), Jennifer Packer. Private collection.

The artist’s powerful canvases are full of detail but never shy away from the bigger picture

How Bologna pioneered the art of anatomical wax modelling

Anatomical models of the eye and its extrinsic muscles, c. 1755–69, Anna Morandi. Museo di Palazzo Poggi, Bologna

Palazzo Poggi houses the extraordinary 18th-century creations of a school dedicated to wax modelling – invaluable tools for medical students at the time

The week in art news – Indian Supreme Court approves plans for new parliament complex

The Indian parliament building (Sansad Bhavan), designed by Edwin Lutyens and Herbert Baker in 1912–13, in New Delhi.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of India dismissed objections to the construction of a new parliament complex in New Delhi. The plans, announced…

Trouble in paradise – Michael Armitage at the Haus der Kunst, reviewed

The artist’s complex depictions of Kenya present scenes of violence alongside moments of beauty

Hardeep Sahota: Bhangra Lexicon

Rashmi Sudhir, Mohiniattam, from Bhangra Lexicon (2021), Hardeep Sahota.

An online version of Yorkshire Sculpture Park’s planned display exploring the traditional Indian dance form

Khalidi Library online

Page from a 16th-century Koran. Khalidi Library, Jerusalem

The Jerusalem institution launches a new website with full digital access to its world-class collection of Arabic manuscripts

To Rebehold the Stars: Dante Illustrated

Ninth Circle: The Giants (Inferno, Canti (detail; 1586–88), Federico Zuccari.

The Uffizi marks 700 years since the Florentine poet’s death with a virtual display of drawings of the Divine Comedy

The Art of Care

Untitled (from Nurse Midwife) (detail; 1951), W. Eugene Smith

The Philadelphia Museum of Art reopens – and with it a display exploring representations of caregiving at moments of crisis

Location, location…location? Bridgerton plays fast and loose with Regency London

Photo: Liam Daniel/Netflix © 2020

It is perhaps unsurprising that a show that takes such a creative approach to costume drama plays fast and loose with its locations

Acquisitions of the Month: December 2020

Zola on trial (1898), Maurice Feuillet.

Courtroom sketches from the trials of Alfred Dreyfus and of Émile Zola are among this month’s highlights – along with a major collection of arms and armour

Miniature painting enters the modern age

Sultan’s Accession to the Throne Ceremony with Drone (detail; 2018), Halil Altindere.

For the artists in this exhibition at the Pera Museum, a traditional form turns out to be ripe for reinvention

A tribute to Homan Potterton (1946–2020)

1 Comment

As a young museum director, Homan Potterton transformed the National Gallery of Ireland’s collection – but he would resign suddenly, later gaining success as a writer

‘This is a wildflower meadow of an exhibition’ – a paean to plants at Dulwich Picture Gallery

Morning Glory (detail), from Some Japanese Flowers (c. 1894), Kazumasa Ogawa.

A survey of 180 years of botanical photography proves that the art form continues to flourish

Can historic houses tell more stories than they have done?

1 Comment

All the evidence suggests that the real challenge for historic properties is to present a much fuller and more complex account of the past

Scandi style – Anders Zorn’s visions of Sweden

Self-portrait in Red (detail; 1915), Anders Zorn. Zornmuseet, Mora

The painter, who enjoyed a glittering international career, was as fascinated by high society as he was by Sweden’s rural life

Rate of return – is France’s commitment to restitution waning?

In a changing political climate, conversations about colonial history – and calls for action – are taking on a new urgency

Arty films and books to look forward to in 2021

From a Netflix flick about the Sutton Hoo dig to a study of women’s self-portraits – the must-see movies and a first reading list for art lovers

Bard boy – David Garrick and the cult of Shakespeare

David Garrick as Richard III (detail; c. 1745), William Hogarth. Walker Art Gallery.

The actor did more than anyone to revive Shakespeare’s reputation in the 18th century – and a plethora of curious wooden relics also played their part

The major art anniversaries to look out for in 2021

Dante (detail; c. 1448–49), Andrea del Castagno.

Plans for exhibitions and events may be up in the air, but the anniversaries they mark are fixed in the calendar

What does 2021 hold for the wounded art market?

A livestreamed sale at Sotheby’s in June 2020.

The art market, like many other business sectors, is not about to revert to its pre-pandemic appearance

Silver linings – artists share their hopeful moments from 2020

Detail of Two Hills (2020), Annie Morris’s screenprint for Make a Wish UK

Annie Morris, Sunil Gupta, Edmund de Waal and other artists reflect on what’s made them feel a little more positive this year

Club classics – on the dance floor with Denzil Forrester

All Hands on Deck (detail; 2003), Denzil Forrester.

The painter discusses dancehalls, club music and drawing in the dark