Features
Stone cold masterpieces – the art of the Olmecs
Olmec artists from the Gulf Coast region of Mexico produced some of the most striking sculptures in the ancient Americas
The shows must go on – what not to miss during Frieze week this year
There are no tents going up in Regent’s Park this year, but there are still plenty of shows worth visiting. Apollo’s editors select their highlights
‘I read the beginning and end of thousands of manuscripts’
Digitising an important collection of manuscripts in the Khalidi Library in Old Jerusalem is a painstaking task
Romance and relics in Chopin’s Warsaw
Although the composer spent most of his life elsewhere, his ghost is ubiquitous in the Polish capital
A farewell to boredom – at Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara
The 14th-century pleasure palace has reopened after a two-year renovation – and its mysteries are as diverting as ever
‘The roll call of artists who donned a uniform in 1870 is remarkable’
The Franco-Prussian war led to lasting political change and left behind a rich visual record
Acquisitions of the Month: August 2020
A trove of newly discovered Hokusai drawings and a 17th-century ‘friendship book’ are among this month’s highlights
The late Robert Freeman was the Beatles’ favourite photographer – and now his entire archive has been stolen
From his portraits of Khrushchev and John Coltrane to celebrated album covers for the Beatles, Freeman’s entire archive was taken just weeks after his death
After the blast – at the Sursock Palace and Museum in Beirut
Surveying the damage at this landmark suggests how long and difficult the road to rebuild Beirut – once again – will be
Sugar high – the fine art of fast food
A super-sized dollop of whipped cream now tops the Fourth Plinth – and there’s plenty more where that came from
Leap of faith – how Mark Rothko reimagined religious art for the modern age
For his chapel commission in Houston, the painter engaged with religion on his own terms – and forged a new, modern relevance for sacred art
Breaking the glass ceiling? Women and the world of Murano
Insular and secretive, the Murano glass industry has historically excluded women – but that may soon change
‘An amplitude of personal charm’ – Desmond Guinness (1931–2020)
Desmond Guinness fought against the odds, and often against public opinion, to save Irish Georgian houses – and the nation will be forever in his debt
The week in art news – Kariye Museum in Istanbul to be turned into a mosque
President Erdogan of Turkey today issued a decree to allow the Kariye (Chora) Museum to be used as a mosque.…
The mystery of the ‘Barbus Müller’ sculptures
The origin of the ‘Barbus Müller’ figures has puzzled many since these distinctive sculptures surfaced in the 1930s
Was Raphael as saintly as they say?
The ‘Prince of Painters’ has been much mythologised by art historians in the 500 years since his death
Acquisitions of the Month: July 2020
More than 300 photographs at MoMA and an Aboriginal shield in Adelaide are among this month’s highlights
‘I was storing crates in my dining room’ – on launching a gallery during lockdown
Setting a brave example wasn’t what Niru Ratnam had in mind when he forged ahead with plans to open his new business during the pandemic
Private enterprise – the individuals who are taking restitution into their own hands
While museums deliberate about returning objects that were taken from their places of origin without consent, it is easier for individuals to act
‘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
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
‘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
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
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It’s time for the government of London to return to its rightful home