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Michaelangelo: The good, the bad and the disturbingly ugly of one of art's greatest geniusesWith a passion for arguing and a sharp tongue to match his extraordinary genius, Michelangelo was both the enfant prodige and the enfant ‘terribile’ of the Renaissance, as Michael Hall reveals.
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'Designer, maker, influencer': How Glyndebourne plans to honour Oliver Messel's legacy this summerA century on from his professional debut, Glyndebourne is to stage an exhibition celebrating the visionary 20th century stage designer.
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A new National Gallery exhibition shines a light on Siena’s brief, but dazzling golden ageIn the space of 100 years, Siena's artists redefined painting as an art form and laid the foundations for Renaissance.
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Hastings Contemporary extols life above and below the waves with two new exhibitionsThe threat to fishing communities and the mysteries of life below the waves are explained in two new exhibitions at Hastings Contemporary, East Sussex.
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‘Seeing all these pictures at the same time is a rare privilege’: ‘Goya to Impressionism’ opens at The CourtauldThe Courtauld’s new exhibition marks the first time that a significant portion of one of Switzerland’s most important art collections has been shown in one go, outside of the country.
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In full bloom: 'Flowers: Flora in art and culture' opens at the Saatchi GalleryFrom 100,000 dried flowers to a contemporary interpretation of Van Gogh’s 'Sunflowers', the Saatchi Gallery's new 'Flowers' exhibition is the perfect spring antidote to long winter days.
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The £40 car boot painting that might just be a long-lost Van Gogh worth more than £10 millionIt's the things dreams are made of: you pick up an innocuous painting at a car boot sale only to discover that it might be a previously unknown piece by one of the most influential figures in art worth millions. This time round though the dream is a reality because experts believe they've just verified a long-lost Van Gogh masterpiece. So, how does the evidence stack up, asks Rosie Paterson?
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Country Life's top 10 arts stories of 2024From the artist killed on his first day in the war to a masterpiece once sold for £30, these were our most popular arts stories of 2024.
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The Christmas wreath-maker: 'They sell quicker than we can make them'All this week we're running a series on the people who make Christmas in the country what it is. Today, Paula Lester meets wreath maker Ellie Taylor.
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How 'the best picture in the world' was saved from destruction by a British army officer refused to follow his ordersClaudia Pritchard on the extraordinary tale of how Piero della Francesca’s 1460s fresco 'The Resurrection' was saved.
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'I don't understand why we have gone backwards': Historic country houses take stock after the budget50 years on from the landmark exhibition at the V&A, the country house is once again facing huge pressures. Lucy Denton speaks to owners and organisations about what the future might hold.
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Eyes wide shut: The art of sleepingSleep takes many shapes in art, whether sensual or drunken, deathly or full of nightmares, but it is rarely peaceful. Even slumbering babies can convey anxiety, discovers Claudia Pritchard.
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The happiest places to live in Britain, including the gorgeous town that's 'like living in a Constable painting'This riverside spot has topped Rightmove’s annual ranking for the first time, taking the crown from Richmond upon Thames. Here’s why.
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The grand master 'paintings' that are actually the most exquisite floral photographs you'll ever seeHarald Altmaier’s photographs of floral tableaux, as colossal in effort as in scale, recall 17th-century Dutch still lifes, but the inspiration behind them is far wider, as Carla Passino finds.
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The £3 million Van Dyck painting going under the hammer with a unique buy-one-get-one-free offerIf you've ever dreamed of owning an Anthony van Dyck, now's your chance to pick up two in one go — plus more fun from today's Dawn Chorus.
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The Legacy: Hans Sloane and the creation of the British MuseumA curious child who grew into a man of voracious intellectual curiosity, his life of collecting gave birth to one of the nation's great institutions.
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Lost and then found: A missing painting by Lord Leighton returns to LondonSomeone, somewhere, knows something about where it went.
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'Wrecking balls swung from the ceiling, pillars were shown toppling, cornices crumbled... it was sensational': The groundbreaking museum exhibition that helped save the country houseAfter years of neglect and countless demolitions, 1974 witnessed a revolution in attitudes towards country houses. It proved a turning point in Britain’s treatment of its old buildings generally and the saviour of places such as Covent Garden, as Simon Jenkins explains.
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Who was the real St Crispin, and what did he have to do with the Battle of Agincourt?You have questions about Shakespeare's most famous speech. We have answers.
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A few of my favourite things: Matthew GoodeThe British actor tells Hetty Lintell about three objects he can't live without.
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Horsepower and hot air balloons: All of the action from the Chantilly Arts et Elegance Richard MilleEurope's most beautiful concours returned to Chantilly, France, last week and it didn't disappoint. Rosie Paterson was there to record all of the action.
