Features
The best cellars are like museums of fine wine
Underground storage can be dark and sinister, but when it’s used for wine, it can become a place of deep pleasure
France chases the Olympic dream
As the Olympic Games arrive in Paris, two exhibitions shine a light on overlooked aspects of competitive sport
A Madonna pregnant with meaning
Most paintings of the Virgin Mary show her holding the divine infant, but a 14th-century panel by Cenni di Francesco reminds us of more earthy realities
Acquisitions of the month: June 2024
A tender portrait by Gauguin of his young son and a bronze lion by Rembrandt Bugatti are among the most significant works to have entered a public collection in the last month
On the road with Ed Ruscha
The artist laureate of Los Angeles also draws on the everyday junk of Southern California to embellish the myth of a city nestled between the ocean and the desert
How to make a 21st-century museum in West Africa
The plans for the Museum of West African Art in Nigeria point to a new path for postcolonial institutions
Behind the mask – the meaning of masquerade in West Africa
Kevin Dumouchelle of the National Museum of African Art explains what a fearsome 19th-century ceremonial mask meant to its makers in Côte d’Ivoire
The Italian wines that look as good as they taste
A series of artist-designed bottles produced by an innovative Tuscan winery wouldn’t be out of place in a gallery
Freeze spirit – the joyous art of fancy ices
Modern creations may offer a riot of flavours but in form they’re no match for the fantastical shapes of the past
Chardin’s strawberries are ripe for reappraisal this summer
The artist’s ability to stop time is on full display in a painting that was recently acquired by the Louvre and is now touring France
When fashion resists interpretation
Peter Hujar and Paul Thek offer a lesson in the art of appreciation at Loewe’s menswear show in Paris
Birmingham’s Barber Institute is getting more cutting-edge
Midway through a major refurbishment, the Institute is still managing to thrive at a challenging time for UK museums
Model behaviour – how life drawing is making a comeback at the Royal Academy
Drawing models in the flesh has been in and out of fashion over the centuries, but the London institution’s postgrad programme is breathing new life into the practice
The Flemish tapestry that takes us into the heart of a decisive battle
Nancy E. Edwards of the Kimbell Art Museum explains how a magnificent tapestry by Bernard van Orley re-enacts the Battle of Pavia
‘Crazed egomaniacs who want to subjugate us’ – a brief history of architects in film
Hollywood films are full of characters who design buildings for a living, but how well do they reflect the realities of the profession?
The everyday radicalism of Joanne Leonard
A photo taken by the artist in 1979 arranges the documents of a family’s life in humorous – and radical – style
The awesome art of Caspar David Friedrich
The leading exponent of German Romanticism was keenly concerned with the destructive effects of humans on a rapidly industrialising world
Acquisitions of the month: May 2024
An uncanny family portrait by Lavinia Fontana and Sorolla’s striking copy of a Velásquez are among the most important works to have entered public collections last month
The favourite fabric of the French elite
The printed, patterned cloth called toile de Jouy was at its height of its popularity in the 18th century, but still delights today
In Norway, a converted grain silo contains a bumper crop of Nordic art
A 1930s structure has been repurposed to house the collection of Nicolai Tangen. It’s certainly impressive, but how coherent is the work on show?
The ulterior motifs of Aby Warburg
A new life of a very singular art historian places his work in the intellectual contexts of his time
The intoxicating adverts of Armando Testa
The Italian artist had no shortage of spirited designs for corporate brewers and distillers keen to convey the essence of their products
The Castilian ruin that is now a haven for contemporary art
Collectors Lorena Pérez-Jácome and Javier Lumbreras are bringing new life to a 16th-century Jesuit school
Picnicking with the Impressionists
Comparing the spreads on offer in scenes by Manet and Monet suggests that eating outdoors offered the artists a very particular kind of freedom
Most popular
- Recent
- Recent
Podcast
![Masterpiece [Re]discovery 2022. Photo: Ben Fisher Photography, courtesy of Masterpiece London](http://www.apollo-magazine.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/MPL2022_4263.jpg)
It’s time for the government of London to return to its rightful home