The ‘Madonna of Saint Sebastian’ shows the painter imbuing an old subject with new life – and recent restoration has brought his mastery of colour to the fore
The artist’s catastrophic mental breakdown as a young man meant that he spent the rest of his life in confinement. His paintings, however, are among the most powerful of the age
In a former Benedictine convent, Bernardino Luini’s fresco of the martyred saint is an unexpected source of comfort
Ahead of a major retrospective, the photographer looks back at a long career spent documenting – and shaping – queer life in Britain, India and beyond
Museums in the UK may be obsessed with bumping up their visitor numbers, but more isn’t always more
The current Frida Kahlo show at Tate Modern reflects a growing trend for over-padded exhibitions
Objects made for the city’s most important families were full of mythological and biblical figures and scenes – and this erudite exhibition aims to recreate their original settings
A major retrospective at Tate Modern reveals an artist whose talent burns more brightly than ever
Post-war museum staff had to keep pace with a world in which Britain’s standing was rapidly changing and their efforts were met with varying degrees of success
As capital punishment became ubiquitous in the 18th-century, artists were increasingly influenced by the macabre spectacle
Hull Maritime Museum has reopened after a six-year, £20m refit, and its extraordinary collection of art and artefacts of seafaring life is making waves once again
Why are a growing number of countries cashing in on animals, rather than historical figures, for the images on their currency?
Gordon Cullen’s drawings for Townscape, his guide to urban planning, lend the subject a beguiling romanticism
Why don’t we still eat oysters with a sense of occasion – and of style to match?
Labels designed by the artist after a road trip through vineyards in Swartland and the West Coast pair perfectly with Eben Sadie’s Old Vine series
The long-running fair dedicated to Italian art rests on the quality of its pre-19th-century offerings – and there’s much to delight here
Everyone knows that the medieval masterpiece chronicles matters of high state, culminating in the Battle of Hastings, but its borders carry a much more riddling message
Businesses of all sizes might be forced to go back to basics if they want to survive
Paintings made during the struggle for unification and independence are a niche interest abroad, but a few gems have risen to the top
For the Surrealist, alcohol provided both an escape from reality and a commercial opportunity
Modernists regarded the Scandinavian style as a mere throwback, but it was much more radical than it was given credit for
While Capability Brown achieved a natural look with great artifice in England, French landscape gardens were overtly experimental fantasies
While collectors of classical African art are becoming selective, interest in the greatest works remains strong
For a brief period before the First World War, oblique angles and angular planes were all the rage in Prague
