EDITORIAL

L'Aquila after the earthquake

The Italian authorities are rightly focusing on the immediate needs of the citizens of L'Aquila after April's earthquake but the long-term project of restoring the historic centre is essential to ensuring the city's future.

CONTEMPORARY ART

Shadow Lands

Exhibitions cast light on the theme of shadows – and new galleries in London are brightening the economic gloom.

ARCHITECTURE

Forgotten prophet

The acclaim given to the remodelled Whitechapel Gallery has neglected its remarkable architect.

ARCHITECTURE

Why size is not enough

Mark Wallinger's success in the competition to design the Ebbsfleet landmark stands in a long tradition of giant public monuments.

Art Business

Recession may be good news for the newly fashionable private not-for- profit galleries.

Collectors' Focus

Maiolica: There are signs that this market is at last moving beyond its Italian roots to appeal to a wider public who want to collect Italian renaissance art at affordable prices, writes Annie Blinkhorn.

Around the Galleries

Contemporary drawings, sporting art, and little-known work by the St Ives group are on offer in London.

Market Review

Islamic and Asian art sales had mixed results, while Bonham’s tried an interesting experiment at Blenheim.

Pastiche or fake? 

In 1894 the Royal Museums in Berlin bought a small bronze that was believed to have been cast from a wax model by Donatello. Volker Krahn reveals that it is in fact an exercise in renaissance pastiche by the great 19th-century Italian sculptor Medardo Rosso – or could he have made it to be sold as a fake? 

Giacometti’s final frenzy

For five years, from 1960 to 1965, Giacometti was obsessed with painting his final muse, a prostitute known as Caroline. Bruce Laughton explores the development of these powerful and moving portraits of a woman who described herself as the artist’s ‘frenzy’ but showed no interest in the works.

A connoisseur’s eye

The politician George Byng was an astute collector, well-placed to take advantage of the art market after the Napoleonic wars. Charles Cator and Alexandre Pradère introduce a pair of coffers and a cabinet-onstand bought by Byng, masterpieces that can be securely attributed to André-Charles Boulle.

London calling

For the art market, June is London’s month. Isabel Andrews previews the capital’s enticing array of fairs, from Old Master drawings to contemporary ceramics.

Collectors & collecting

An exhibition of Jean Bonna’s outstanding collection of Old Master drawings opens at the National Gallery of Scotland this month. At home in Geneva, he talks to Louise Nicholson about his love for works of art on paper. Photographs by Derry Moore.

A discovery trail

Susan Moore previews the highlights and revelations on show in an enterprising new venture devised by two of London’s most distinguished Old Master dealers.

The legacy of glasnost 

Art and politics combined to create a unique movement in Russia in the 1980s, reports Corinna Lotz.

A Question of Style

The Victoria & Albert Museum’s magnificent exploration of the baroque makes up in visual flair what it lacks in scholarly depth, writes Robert Oresko.

Relaxing on the river

An exhibition focusing on Gustave Caillebotte’s depictions of water captures the essence of his art, writes Jonathan Lopez. 

Take courage

The new Towner in Eastbourne bravely takes this fine collection into the 21st century, writes Peyton Skipwith.

East Meets West

Susan Moore reports on the Hermitage’s new museum, in a 17th century building in Amsterdam. It opens this month with an exhibition on the 19th-century Russian court.

Dolphins in the Swim

This month Thames and Hudson celebrates its 60th anniversary. Michael Hall taks to the chairman and managing director of this celebrated family-owned publisher about the challenges that it faces in fulfilling its founders’ mission – to publish illustrated books to the highest standard for the widest possible market