The Hagia Sophia takes centre stage in the battle over Turkey’s past
The contested building was recently, for the first time, the site of the annual celebration of the Ottoman conquest of Constantinople
What to look out for at London Art Week this summer
From 3 to 10 July the galleries of Mayfair and St James’s are putting on physical and digital displays to appeal to dedicated connoisseurs and casual browsers alike
The Jewish collectors who gave important early gifts to the V&A
The role of leading Anglo-Jewish figures in the development of the fledgling museum deserves to be better known
Boozing, bear-baiting and treading the boards – the history of London’s first playhouse
The remains of the Red Lion, recently unearthed in Whitechapel, show us a dress rehearsal for the great Elizabethan theatres
Best of fiends – the monsters of Léopold Chauveau
These modern monsters may look lonely, but they’re familiar figures – descendants of the Parisian beasts of Viollet-le-Duc and Charles Meryon
The week in art news – UK museums and galleries to reopen from 4 July
Plus: American Museum of Natural History to remove statue of Theodore Roosevelt | Guggenheim curatorial staff demand end of ‘discriminatory practices’ | Philadelphia Museum of Art to cut staff by more than 20 per cent | The Met plans to reopen at end of August
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The restlessness of Gerhard Richter
A short-lived retrospective at the Met Breuer revelled in the German artist’s formal inventiveness – and his long engagement with history
Obstructing views of Tower Bridge
A development that would have impinged on Tower Bridge has landed Robert Jenrick in hot water – so Rakewell digs up some classic views of the landmark
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June 2020
• An interview with Alfredo Jaar
• Touch and distance in noli me tangere scenes
• The legacy of Bernard Leach
• Cooking with Lee Miller
Plus: The revival of building with mud, what collecting means in a crisis, an 18th-century design bible, the paintings of Sofonisba Anguissola – and is it worth taking a virtual tour of a museum?
Boxing clever – the playful sculptures of Charlotte Posenenske
The German artist is closely linked with conceptual and minimalist art, but her DIY approach was quite singular
Looking closely at art during lockdown
Philip Hewat-Jaboor, chairman of Masterpiece London, and Tibetan art specialist Alice S. Kandell on spending more time with objects
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Learned behaviour – the successful career of Sofonisba Anguissola
Should we see the painter as a Renaissance feminist or as a product of her upbringing?
The destruction of Indigenous Australian sites cannot be allowed to continue
Recent mining blasts at a sacred site in Western Australia have fired up protestors
The joyful art of Julio Le Parc
The Argentinian-born artist, now in his tenth decade, reflects on a life devoted to trying new things
Stolen glances – The Painter and the Thief, reviewed
A documentary about the unlikely friendship between an artist and the man who stole her work raises tantalising questions about image-making and ownership
Grand union – how canals have captivated British artists for centuries
Painters from Constable to the present day have been inspired by urban waterways as a place for both lovers and labourers
The sophisticated still lifes of Giovanna Garzoni
The painter’s painstakingly precise botanical illustrations were highly sought after in the 17th century
In a global health crisis, science museums have a lot to offer – even while shut
From online exhibitions on past epidemics to new collecting projects, these institutions bear witness to the unfolding of history
‘Freedom cannot be invented’ – an interview with Christo
The artist discusses his unorthodox methods, his long partnership with the late Jeanne-Claude, and finally being allowed to wrap the Arc de Triomphe
The Master of Mondsee
All eight surviving paintings from the lost Mondsee altarpiece are reunited for the first time at the Upper Belvedere
Dancing at Dusk – A Moment with Pina Bausch’s The Rite of Spring
From soil to sand – a pan-African troupe’s performance of the ballet was filmed on the beach in Senegal just before lockdown
Christo and Jeanne-Claude: Paris!
This exhibition at the Pompidou considers the formative years the artist duo spent in the French capital
The Glastonbury Festival Archive
With the 50th anniversary edition of the event cancelled, the V&A is hosting an alternative celebration (online)
Cash points – thoughts on a healthier future for museum fundraising
The pandemic has made existing problems in arts funding only too apparent. How can museums safeguard their futures?