The wearing of imperial silks was an extremely hierarchical affair. No wonder Chinese textiles appeal to the most discerning modern buyers
A flawless digital copy of the artist’s Basket of Fruit raises the tricky question of how much authenticity should matter to museums
In the decades after the Second World War, female artists chafed at the strictures of abstraction and began expressing their gender through their work
Plus: Mick Moon (1937–2024), and a round-up of the week’s most important museum appointments
Jeff Koons launched 125 sculptures into orbit on a SpaceX rocket this week. Perhaps they’ll hang out with the Pop art that went on a lunar holiday in 1969
An exhibition of the late ceramicist’s creations features only 11 works, but open-minded viewers will find plenty to delight in
The Lebanese artist's new installation cleverly undermines the utopian ambitions of the architecture that surrounds it
From pancakes to parades, pre-Lent indulgences bring joy to countless communities around this time of year
An aww-inspiring exhibition explores adorability through the ages, and suggests it can be subversive as well as sweet
As an exhibition at the Royal Academy shows, the Impressionists were never more immediate or intimate than in their drawings
The Reformation was a disaster for British architecture, argues an impressive new book – and the country’s approach to building design has never been the same
The streamer’s latest romcom, ‘Upgraded’, stretches artistic licence to its limits
A recently identified painting by Guercino and a series of Joseph Cornell boxes are among the most significant works to have entered public collections last month
The Papua New Guinean won the 10th Artes Mundi prize last month, with video works and installations that eloquently embody the history and heritage of her homeland
Chinese New Year is nigh – but the zodiac’s most auspicious creature has a storied history of baring its fangs in many other cultures, too
The American star and sometime spy was more than capable of defining her own image, as an exhibition in Berlin makes clear
The Central Park Zoo escapee was born in chains, but everywhere from the Upper West Side to the East Village he is now free
Every summer, the emperor Franz Josef celebrated his birthday in the ‘earthly paradise’ of Bad Ischl, now a European Capital of Culture
The details of this fine woodblock show there’s even more to a majestic print of a 19th-century courtesan than meets the eye – if you know how to look
Artists in the Soviet satellite states often adopted the forms and techniques of mass surveillance to mordant effect
Trade and cultural exchange meant that the iconographical traditions of East Africa and Byzantium had much in common
While the appointment or dismissal of directors makes headlines, chronic understaffing is a much more fundamental problem
Making a living in the capital has always been a challenge for creative types, but British television was once very interested in how they managed
The artist is better known for painting Ancien Régime aristocrats than for verdant hills and melancholy skies. That may change after an auction at Sotheby’s
