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The allure of irises lies not in their botany, but in their ability to express emotionThe striking iris, with its infinite palette of colours and habitats, has bloomed on the Great Sphinx of Giza, on Roman standards and in paintings from Leonardo da Vinci to Vincent van Gogh.
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Monaco's answer to Scotland's NC500 is proof that it's the Riviera’s new culture capitalSteven King makes the case for walking the Principality’s open-air sculpture trail.
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What David Hockney said about art was rightThis week's Athena looks back at what the famous artist thought about his artform.
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Forget doom scrolling, Art History is the best way for Gen Z to embrace visual cultureThis week's leader looks at how studying Art History can better help today's youth to understand the world they live in.
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'Culture is fundamental to how we think of ourselves': The head of the Courtauld Gallery on The Arts, AI and the impoverishment of the public realmErnst Vegelin van Claerbergen talks to Carla Passino how our approach to culture can define British identity, what makes him optimistic about the future and why he’s looking forward to the sounds of diggers and jackhammers.
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From a white horse to a concrete house: Five major milestones in English art historyCharlotte Mullins, author of 'The Art Isles: A 15,000-year story of art in Britain and Ireland', looks at some of England's most vital artworks.
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'The exhibition reminds you in a very physical way that everything is connected': How Britain’s greatest sculptor engages with the worldThe largest solo exhibition of Antony Gormley's work in continental Europe prompts Charlotte Mullins to ask how an artist engages with the world when their work is located outside of the gallery.
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Was there ever a city so densely populated by brilliant minds, so tightly packed with bright ideas? Mark Rothko is following in the footsteps of Michelangelo and taking over FlorenceA major retrospective of Mark Rothko's work is now open in Florence. Steven King went to have a look.
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No shoes please, we're French: The seaside gallery celebrating Pop Art — and you have to look round barefootAmy Serafin journeys to Villa Carmignac on the Île de Porquerolles for their 'Sea, Pop & Sun' exhibition.
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‘We thought they could be a lovely gift for our daughter-in-law’: How an unsuspecting couple found £11,000 worth of cat paintings in a skipTwo works by 19th-century artist Louis Wain are heading for auction, after being rescued by a couple in South Wales who had no idea of their value.
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Bountiful maiden or Virgin Queen: The many faces of Elizabeth I paint a compelling portraitElizabeth I forged her own myth through portraiture, as a new exhibition at the Philip Mould Gallery in London reveals.
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The mysterious case of one of the most important British artists of the 1990s who is back with a bang after more than 25 yearsCathy de Monchaux was part of the YBA generation and nominated for a Turner Prize, but, despite living in Hoxton for the last 35 years, has hardly shown in the UK. Charlotte Mullins discovers how she feels about her retrospective being in France and not home.
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It's a Henry Moore summer in the gardens of EnglandA suite of exhibitions this summer celebrates one of Britain's greatest ever sculptors.
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An opportunity to inspect even one of the gargantuan pages of Audubon's Birds of America shouldn't be missedAfter discovering a volume of the one-time world's most expensive book under a dust sheet, a museum in Glasgow is offering visitors the chance to view it up close.
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The Met Gala dress code is 'Fashion is Art'. But is it?Does McQueen equal Mondrian? And is Dior on a par with Dalí? Susanne Madsen weighs in.
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‘Vandalised, disembowelled and dismembered’: Artist Jack Milroy gives books a brutal treatment with beautiful resultsThe artist, now 87, once ate tinned sardines for 100 lunches in a row for his craft. He speaks to Lotte Brundle ahead of a new London exhibition.
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The world has gone Lilliputian: The 21st-century renaissance of the dolls' houseA renewed interest in opulent dolls' houses is allowing artisans to indulge their wilder miniature flights of fancy.
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'First, all the Georgian silver goes, and then all that furniture. Then, the Canalettos go': The anatomy of a country-house saleCountry-house sales used to be the preserve of Sotheby’s and Christie’s. Now the choice is far wider, Huon Mallalieu shares his top tips on where and how to disperse a collection.
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Alphonse Mucha: The Czech artist who went from penurious obscurity to foundational figure of Art Nouveau movementAlthough most celebrated for his graphic work, Mucha also embraced sculpture and the decorative arts and designed everything from cutlery to textiles, stained-glass windows and jewellery.
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A distinguished copy of 'Salvator Mundi' is now on offer — could it also be the truest to Leonardo da Vinci's vision?One of the roughly 20 known versions of 'Salvator Mundi', executed by da Vinci's workshop, is being unveiled at TEFAF Maastricht, on the stand of British dealer Agnews Gallery.
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Easel on the eye: The genius of John PiperJohn Piper was a modernist who rejected Modernism, a versatile artist who defied categories, but one who remained true to the spirit and detail of the places he painted
