A dumpy effigy in a church in Stratford-upon-Avon has been mocked for centuries, but new research claims it’s the most accurate likeness of the playwright there is
Laying claim to its archaeological heritage is central to Mexico’s identity as a modern nation
The restored tomb of Augustus reopened this month – and an extensive new website gives a good sense of what has happened to it over the last two thousand years
A new series on BBC Radio 3 delves into the notorious life of Benvenuto Cellini – and it's a binge-worthy Renaissance thriller, Christina Faraday writes
The glittering displays of Noël Coward and chums masked an altogether less divine reality – but anxiety and fear were always part of the act
The V&A says it’s protecting the jobs of librarians (for now), but the fate of the greatest art library in the UK remains uncertain
Irma Stern’s idylls of African life have too often been read at face value – but they mask a more troubled history
With human contact all but banned, an exhibition about touch was always going to provoke mixed feelings
A new graphic novel offers a fresh take on the museum heist genre – if you can bear its regressive sexual politics, that is
The knavery and folly of the rarefied art world are writ large in a documentary that picks over the Knoedler forgery scandal
The latest AI tool to go viral turns still images into singing videos – so warbling Mona Lisas and disco Holbeins are taking over your social feeds
Since the 1960s, artists and designers have regarded the brooch as a miniature sculpture – and an opportunity to try out new materials and techniques
The architect wreathed his buildings in mystical language – but his modern citadels are clearly among the great achievements of 20th-century architecture
Christie’s just sold a Jpeg file for a staggering $69.3 million. There’ll be a saving on shipping costs, if nothing else...
A pair of Lear’s macaws, named after the poet, painter and parrot-lover, have been released into the wild in Brazil
Photographers and film-makers have long added colour to their images – but does the current craze for colourisation create a false impression of olden times?
With works spanning centuries and cultures, there’s plenty to captivate you at this year’s event – whether you’re visiting in person or browsing online
Norman Rosenthal celebrates a great champion of contemporary art in Britain, who as director of the Tate founded the Turner Prize
A display of interwar posters is a reminder of that utopian moment when artists believed they could invent a new world
Will Martin steps away from his screen and takes his cues from some of the world’s leading contemporary artists
Locked down in Arles, the celebrated interiors photographer François Halard made a series of dreamlike Polaroids that emerge as an enigmatic self-portrait
Gillian Wearing is in an unusually candid mode in her lockdown paintings, writes Martin Herbert – if you take them at face value, that is
Plus: V&A to merge departments and cut 140 jobs | UK government announces £390m to help arts venues reopen | Alan Bowness (1928–2021) | and missing Jacob Lawrence painting discovered in Manhattan
