Features
Around the galleries – ambitions are high at Asian Art in London
The return of the event shows that the capital remains a global hub for the market
Taking Philip Guston on his own terms
Hettie Judah stops her ears to the endless chatter to find a painter whose work is full of flaws and self-doubt – and all the better for it
The Venetian family that brought glass-making into the modern age
The founders of the firm Nason Moretti revolutionised the making of glass without compromising on its quality
‘Ideas about nation, territory and identity are thrown into disarray’
At the Steirischer Herbst festival in Graz, the spectre of nationalism and anxiety about borders haunted this year’s programme
Is Uzbekistan poised to become a major cultural player?
The country is keen to rebrand by promoting its art and architecture – and the modernist buildings of its capital Tashkent are part of the plan
Unscrolling China’s historic urban fabric
A 30m-long painting presents the Kiangxi Emperor touring southern China, says Clarissa von Spee of the Cleveland Museum of Art
Grapes of froth – making the thinking man’s ‘champagne’
A vineyard-meets-sculpture park in Franciacorta makes wine truly a multisensory affair
Money matters – the problem museums have with philanthropy
As museums face rising costs and lower grants, fundraising is more important than ever – but they have to be very careful where the money comes from
Is Denmark Street really London’s Tin Pan Alley?
Once famous as the home of music publishers and recording studios, Denmark Street has adapted to a changing city but never lost its soul
Crowning glories – a new home for the Spanish royal collection
After 17 years of construction, the Gallery of the Royal Collections in Madrid is open at last – and ready to tell a triumphalist tale
How Frans Hals made up for his slow start
The painter was no prodigy but, as Bart Cornelis of the National Gallery in London tells Apollo, he was soon making up for lost time with his bold brushwork
Acquisitions of the Month: September 2023
A Regency torchère and a recently rediscovered work by Francisco de Zurbarán are among the most remarkable works to enter public collections
In Edinburgh, the National Gallery now gives Scottish art the space it deserves
The opening of a whole new suite of galleries means that Scottish artists now have the same status as the museum’s Old Masters
Studying abroad: what Mark Rothko learned in Europe
The painter was often forthright in his rejection of the old world – but it’s time to reconsider his European influences
Soul mates – the story of Yusuf and Zuleikha
Sameer Rahim is impressed by a 16th-century Iranian manuscript illustrating a Sufi poem of seduction and spiritualism
Brave new world – how Glenn Spiro breathes new life into old materials
The London-based jewellery artist uses antique forms to challenge received notions of preciousness
The South African winemakers who are cultivating the arts
A new initiative combines adventurous winemaking with an unusual form of art philanthropy
For not-so-humble pies – a short history of the tureen dish
Pastries topped with taxidermy and lavish decoration were the inspiration for elaborate tureen dishes, masterpieces of the goldsmith’s craft
The women who keep reappearing in Rubens’s paintings
The adjective ‘Rubenesque’ was coined in the 19th century, but there’s rather more to the female figures in his paintings than acres of flesh
Collectors are falling for the British Neo-Romantics
The market for paintings by the likes of John Craxton and John Minton – and Paul Nash in pastoral mode – is having an idyllic time
Wrestling with Michelangelo
Achim Gnann of the Albertina Museum gets to grips with sketches that show the artist embracing a dynamic new style
Tourist for a day – who’s watching who at London Zoo?
The Regent’s Park attraction offers plenty of opportunities for people-watching when the animals decide to make themselves scarce
Tourist for a day – the spectacular Paris park that needs a helping hand
The parc des Buttes-Chaumont was meant to be a ’Tuileries of the people’, but the crowning glory of Haussman’s Paris has fallen on hard times
A seriously good trip – the Dreamachine at Hackney Downs Studios
The psychedelic artwork-meets-wellbeing experience is still in its pilot stages but it deserves to be a mainstream hit
Pilgrims’ progress? The Vatican Jubilee has frustrated Romans and tourists alike