The modern potter who was devoted to Delft
When Simon Pettet moved into Dennis Severs’ House in Spitalfields he began to channel the 18th century in the 1980s
On its 300th birthday, the Belvedere reflects on a remarkably complicated past
Built as a residence for Prince Eugene of Savoy, the Vienna museum with a tangled history is now a home for Old Masters and modern art
The Venetian artists who vied with the ancients
Working in an Italian city with no Roman past allowed painters and sculptors to put their own spin on classical antiquity
The Frenchman who wanted to photograph the world
In the early 20th century, Albert Kahn dispatched photographers to more than 50 countries – and the magical results can be found in the Paris museum that bears his name
Grand designs – how Gio Ponti transformed Palazzo Bo
The University of Padua may be 800 years old, but this ancient institution is also home to masterpieces of 20th-century design
The man who made off with a Goya – ‘The Duke’, reviewed
Roger Michell’s last film tells the unlikely story of how the Duke of Wellington’s portrait was stolen from the National Gallery – and found in a train station four years later
Showing their metal – the glorious gold of the ancient Saka people
Burials uncovered in East Kazakhstan have revealed the nomadic Saka to be as skilled in gold-working as they were in horsemanship and war
Frieze week highlights: Sickert’s portraits and Hampstead Garden Suburb in the 1970s
The painter’s brooding portraits and Wangari Mathenge’s colourful interiors are among the shows to see this year
Supporting cast – Andrew Lloyd Webber does up Drury Lane with a few of his favourite things
The musical impresario has found a role for his collection of beloved Pre-Raphaelites at the newly restored Theatre Royal Drury Lane
Tourist for a day – the London Eye may be ancient now, but it’s well worth a spin
The giant ferris wheel may now be part of the furniture – but the view from on high is still revolutionary
In praise of Grinling Gibbons, the wizard of woodcarving
The sculptor took Restoration England by storm with his virtuosic woodwork
The poetry of Polaroids, chez François Halard
Locked down in Arles, the celebrated interiors photographer François Halard made a series of dreamlike Polaroids that emerge as an enigmatic self-portrait
The Victorian adventurers who pitched their tent for eternity
Richard and Isabel Burton are buried in a quiet churchyard in south London – but their remarkable tomb is a fitting monument to these insatiable travellers
‘The thing is to be brave’ – Maggi Hambling toughs it out
From that scandalous scallop to her Mary Wollstonecraft monument, Maggi Hambling is no stranger to controversy
Buttered toast and bridge evenings – Summoned by Bells revisited
John Betjeman’s nostalgic verse memoir was well served by its illustrators
Storm in a teacup – at Kew’s pavilion restaurant
The gardens’ latest restaurant occupies the site of their first refreshment pavilion – which has a surprisingly turbulent history
Priming up the walls – on colour and confinement
Some choose their wallpaper, some have paint schemes thrust upon them… a decorative dérive through the history of colour and interiors
‘It’s an artistic overview of one of the most productive moments in the city of Leuven’
Curator Peter Carpreau talks about the masterpieces of Flemish art housed in the recently restored St Peter’s Church in Leuven
Burning desires – Céline Sciamma’s ‘Portrait of a Lady on Fire’, reviewed
The French director’s film about an 18th-century painter and her muse is a visual feast
What not to miss at BRAFA this year
From Fauvist paintings to fragments of the Berlin Wall – highlights of the 2020 edition of the fair
Arty films and books to look out for in 2020
From The Rock as an art detective to warts-and-all Warhol – the must-see films and a first reading list for art lovers
‘Sugar paste is very fine, finer than porcelain’ – the art of historical banquets
The food historian Ivan Day talks about the historical table settings he has recreated for an exhibition at the Fitzwilliam Museum
Dijon’s grand old museum has a new look – and it really cuts the mustard
After a decade-long renovation, the palatial Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon can now show its masterpieces to even greater advantage
A filched finch that never really takes flight – The Goldfinch, reviewed
The film adaptation of Donna Tartt’s novel is visually enticing but unwieldy
When outsider art entered the mainstream