A year after the blast, Beirut is in crisis – but look hard, and there are small signs of hope
With chaos in Lebanon and Beirut in crisis, the resilience of the city’s artists and heritage workers is something of a miracle
The saga of the Salvator Mundi is catnip for film-makers
Two documentaries on the ‘lost Leonardo’ have found the story’s sensationalism irresistible – but hard facts are as absent as the painting itself
Tourist for a day – why Parisians really ought to climb the Arc de Triomphe
Most Parisians treat the Arc de Triomphe as a glorified roundabout – but by climbing it they’d see the city in a new light
At the Fondazione Prada, painting refuses to play dead
Peter Fischli has curated a show about the demise of painting – but his take is that it’s still very much alive
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In the studio with… Shezad Dawood
The London-based artist increasingly works with VR technology – but his studio still smells of textiles, which remind him of his childhood
In praise of Grinling Gibbons, the wizard of woodcarving
The sculptor took Restoration England by storm with his virtuosic woodwork
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Antony Gormley has always believed that sculpture can change the world – and that faith is firmer than ever
An interview with Antony Gormley – public servant, Romantic artist and utopian thinker
Escape artist – an interview with Rashid Johnson
The conceptual artist talks about his interest in unusual materials – and in what it means to ‘run’
July/August 2021
• The photographers who put West Africa in the frame
• The genius of Grinling Gibbons, 300 years on
• An interview with Mamma Andersson
• Flights of fancy: the Spanish Steps in Rome
Plus: the treasures of Lambeth Palace Library, a new model for restitution, a preview of Parcours des Mondes, five thousand years of Iranian art, and a century of baroque Italian set design
Damien Hirst, new kid on the blockchain
Damien Hirst has joined the NFT funfair – and he’s even brought former Bank of England governor Mark Carney along for the ride
Liverpool loses Unesco World Heritage status
Plus: France requires vaccine passports for cultural venues and more than 1,000 Polish cultural figures criticise dismissal of museum director
Capital gains: how Gainsborough took London by storm
When the painter finally moved to the capital, he was quick to make the most of the opportunities on offer
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We need a fair and formal process for restitution claims – but what would that look like?
As calls grow for the return of objects acquired during the colonial era, the assessment of claims requires an independent process
In the studio with… Shahzia Sikander
The artist’s miniature paintings aren’t as diminutive as they may sound, but the magnifying glass attached to her worktable is still absolutely essential
Remembering Sir Nicholas Goodison (1934–2021), the City grandee with a scholar’s eye for the decorative arts
Nicholas Goodison had a distinguished career in the City – but he will also be remembered for his scholarly and philanthropic contributions to the arts
Bellotto’s views of Dresden tell a tale of two cities
Through the Italian painter’s eyes, the German city became both an idealised version of itself and a surrogate for his native Venice
The Grande Odalisque – a graphic novel that flunks its art heists
A new graphic novel offers a fresh take on the museum heist genre – if you can bear its regressive sexual politics, that is
In her life and art, Nina Hamnett had some serious fun
The first survey show dedicated to the ‘Queen of Bohemia’ presents a flamboyant figure who was single-minded about her art
After playing Turner and Lowry, now Timothy Spall has taken up painting for real
Having picked up the paintbrush for film roles, the actor found that he couldn’t stop painting – and he now has a solo show of his own
Behind the mask? An interview with Gillian Wearing
Gillian Wearing is in an unusually candid mode in her lockdown paintings, writes Martin Herbert – if you take them at face value, that is
Edinburgh Art Festival
From 20th-century painting surveys to brand-new commissions – a month of arts programming all around the city
Bellotto: The Königstein Views Reunited
A chance to see all five of the Venetian’s dramatic depictions of a fortress outside Dresden – for the first time in more than 250 years
Leiko Ikemura: Usagi in Wonderland
In Norwich, a first solo show in the UK for the contemplative Japanese-Swiss artist with a playful streak
Paper Stories, Layered Dreams: The Art of Ekua Holmes
The MFA Boston presents the artist’s vivid book illustrations and colourful collages
What should happen to colonial collections that weren’t looted?
Museums should lead conversations about archives and artefacts gathered in former colonies – and not leave the objects gathering dust