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Caravaggio: The brutal life and early death of the sinner who painted saintsAlthough named after an angel, Caravaggio needed no stronger reason to brawl than having his artichokes dressed with butter instead of olive oil. Maev Kennedy delves into his short and brutal life.
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'A wonderful reminder of what the countryside could and should be': The 200-year-old watercolour of a world fast disappearingChristopher Price of the Rare Breed Survival Trust on the bucolic beauty of The Magic Apple Tree by Samuel Palmer, which he nominates as his favourite painting.
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Country Life 17 April 2024Country Life 17 April 2024 tells the story of illustrator Archibald Thorburn, ancient musical instruments, Wassily Kandinsky and much more.
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150 years of the Impressionists, being celebrated in Paris and LondonIn 1874, a group of painters rejected by the official Paris Salon staged its own show and changed the course of art. It was France’s convulsed lurch into the modern era that helped spark the Impressionist revolution.
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Paper houses: The Somerset artists turning books into model country homesEach of us has treasured memories of our home, past or present. Catriona Gray meets artist Ele Grafton, who captures these individual stories using vintage books and documents.
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Leading museums and attractions slowly returning to pre-Pandemic levels, with London leading the wayAccording to the Association of Leading Visitor Attractions, visitor numbers were up by 19% last year.
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The art dealer who bet £500,000 on a hunch, and ended up with a long-lost Old Master worth millionsA seemingly insignificant painting sold in 2022 turned out to be a lost masterpiece — and it's now on display in Britain. Carla Passino tells the tale.
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Six of the best sculpture parks to visit around BritainA landscape full of sculpture is always a great experience; Carla Passino picks out some of the most extraordinary sculpture parks in Britain.
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My favourite painting: Sir Alistair SpaldingThe artistic director of Sadler's Wells chooses a painting created 'purely to aid reflection and contemplation'.
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Trafalgar Square celebrates 25 years of Fourth Plinth art — but is it time for a permanent piece?Seven shortlisted ideas for the next stint on the fourth plinth in Trafalgar Square are currently on display — but some say it is now time for a more permanent fixture.
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Handbags, Ferraris and priceless paintings — these are a few of our favourite things (to invest in)Knight Frank's Luxury Investment Index for 2023 reveals what the rich and famous have been buying and selling, and whether their investments are going up or down.
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The art heist with a happy ending, 15 years laterIn a heist with a happy ending, a stolen Lavery oil made its way back to Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, where it now inspires headmaster John Browne, as Carla Passino discovers.
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'The most wonderful painting in existence', once sold for £30 and considered less valuable than its frame, is back in LondonFlaming June by Frederick, Lord Leighton, has seen its reputation rise, fall, and rise again in the 128 years since it first went on public display. Carla Passino charts its path.
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My Favourite Painting: Norman FosterThe great architect Norman Foster — aka Lord Foster of Thames Bank — chooses a Lowry given to him as a present by his wife.
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Bert Hardy: The photographer who chronicled mid-century Britain, from the Blitz to BlackpoolThe work of photographer Bert Hardy is celebrated in a new show at The Photographers’ Gallery in London.
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Country Life 21 February 2024Country Life 21 February 2024 looks at fine art, handsome hedges, and how to grow a wildflower meadow.
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The re-making of Notre Dame: An extraordinary achievement by any measureCountry Life's cultural columnist Athena on the astonishing progress being made in the rebuilding of Notre-Dame de Paris — and how an exhibition in London shows what is being done.
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The ancient mapmakers who shaped the world as we still see it centuries laterThe desire to chart the world around us is an impulse as old as time and some map-makers’ efforts have an astonishing longevity, reveals Matthew Dennison.
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My Favourite Painting: Joanna JensenThe Childs Farm founder on a 'bruiser' bull.
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My favourite painting: Allan MallinsonMilitary historian Allan Mallinson picks an image of 'faith, generosity and ultimate sacrifice'.
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Clive Nichols: Secrets from the king of garden photographyBritain's top garden photographer Clive Nichols joins the Country Life podcast.
