Bible belters – in praise of Murillo’s Prodigal Son paintings
The six paintings have long languished in relative obscurity. Restored and on view in Dublin, they are finally getting their due
Morel compass – John Cage’s mania for mushrooms
For the avant-garde composer, mushroom-foraging was closely linked to his ideas about sound and spontaneity
‘For more than a thousand years this area has been the burial place of the great and the good of Cairo’
A short-sighted view of what counts as cultural heritage has led to the bulldozing of family tombs in the city’s oldest burial site
Status anxiety – the battle over culture in Bolivia
The sacking of two museum directors and the axing of the ministry for culture is part of a wider struggle about who and what culture is for
Celtic revival? Recording Ireland’s historic buildings
Would that the Buildings of Ireland series could be completed – the architectural riches of Central Leinster and Cork are well served by two new volumes
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Losing face – iconoclasm in ancient Rome
The importance of public statuary and portraiture for the Romans is no better demonstrated than in the way images of personae non gratae were destroyed, disfigured or re-carved
Photo realism – an interview with Alfredo Jaar
The Chilean-born artist talks about his ambivalent attitude towards photography and his utopian feelings about art
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July/August 2020
• An interview with Eric Fischl
• The rakish side of Raphael
• Andrea Palladio and the plague
• John Cage’s passion for mushrooms
Plus: the art of window dressing, a preview of Parcours des Mondes, the monumental achievements of the Olmecs – and the private individuals who are returning looted art
Goya for gastronomes – and Donald Trump
The Trumps have a soft spot for Goya Foods, it seems – which sets Rakewell wondering whether the brand could make more of its painterly associations
When video art meets the music video
Black artists such as Jacolby Satterwhite and Arthur Jafa have made the most of the freedom – and mass audience – music videos can offer
‘Her photographs appear as an eloquent reminder to passers-by of a life cut short’
Khadija Saye was among the 72 people who died in the fire at Grenfell in 2017. A series of self-portraits she made that year is currently on display near the tower
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Bones of contention – what does the discovery of human remains at the Chapelle Expiatoire mean?
The discovery of remains of victims of the Terror in a chapel dedicated to Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette complicates our understanding of the monument
The space odyssey that went nowhere – ‘Spaceship Earth’, reviewed
Before ‘Big Brother’, there was Biosphere 2 – an experiment in utopian living that left its participants low on food and short of breath
‘Zagreb’s museums and historic sites are suffering severely’
Struck by both Covid-19 and a fierce earthquake, Croatia’s capital city and its cultural heritage need urgent help
Wheel of fortune – the life and achievements of Bernard Leach
A century after the founding of the Leach Pottery in St Ives, the ‘father of British studio pottery’ remains an influential, if contested, figure
The sophisticated still lifes of Giovanna Garzoni
The painter’s painstakingly precise botanical illustrations were highly sought after in the 17th century
Touching distance – the fine art of keeping apart
The encounter between Mary Magdalene and the risen Christ has challenged the artists who have chosen to represent it
Renaissance remixed – a surreal video game takes a sideways look at art history
Could a Pythonesque computer game set a good example for galleries trying to attract virtual visitors?
How will museums bring us close to art in an era of social distancing?
As museums around the world prepare to reopen, many do so with a renewed sense of purpose
Toulouse-Lautrec and the Celebrity Culture of Paris
This exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago brings to life the bohemian world of fin-de-siècle Montmartre
Berlin Works from Aby Warburg’s Mnemosyne Atlas
The unfinished magnum opus featured a number of works held in Berlin’s state museums – now on display at the Gemäldegalerie
Denzil Forrester: Itchin & Scratchin
Nottingham Contemporary reopens with energetic dance-floor scenes from the Grenada-born artist
Bill Brandt/Henry Moore
An exhibition at Hepworth Wakefield traces the intersecting paths of the photographer and the sculptor
‘An unparalleled talent’ – a tribute to Delphine Levy (1969–2020)
The founding director of Paris Musées worked indefatigably to serve her ideal of culture as a public good