Rakewell
Clueless in Crete – Dominic Raab holidays while Kabul falls
We don’t know if the foreign secretary made it to the Palace of Knossos, but his career may soon be ancient history
Elon Musk’s day out at the Uffizi
Where Winckelmann and Walter Pater have trod, the tech entrepreneur follows
Glasgow gets dolled up for the movies
Filming for Batman and Indiana Jones has transformed the city in recent weeks – to the delight of Glaswegians
Will Balenciaga make Beliebers of us all?
The former teen idol turned fashion icon is in full Renaissance prince mode in Balenciaga’s latest campaign
Damien Hirst, new kid on the blockchain
Damien Hirst has joined the NFT funfair – and he’s even brought former Bank of England governor Mark Carney along for the ride
Lewd Louvre, porno Prado – Pornhub makes a foray into fine art
The adult streaming site Pornhub has roused some of the world’s most revered nude paintings to life in a series of graphic videos
In Denmark, a very silly, supersized sandcastle
The tallest sandcastle ever built towers over a seaside town – and there’s no risk of the waves washing it away
The Courtauld takes a punt on the queen of online gambling
The Courtauld has named its new exhibition galleries after Bet365 billionaire Denise Coates – and Rakewell has a suggestion for the exhibition programme
Rio Ferdinand, model maker
The footballer-turned-pundit has designed a model stadium. Don’t hold your breath for a work of art, writes Rakewell – it’s been crafted to hold a crowd of mass-produced sausage snacks
Poor Matt Hancock – he could still be taking it easy as culture secretary
The beleaguered health secretary probably enjoyed the culture brief more than his current role
Check mates: the Tartan Army and its royal robes
Travelling Scottish football fans don everything from fake ginger sideburns to traditional Hawaiian dress – but they also have a right royal tartan of their own
The fine art (of sorts) of Euro 2020 football kits
The Italians have opted for a ‘Renaissance design’ – although the floral patterning looks more William Morris than Michelangelo
Offices have become museum pieces – in the case of Stephen Hawking’s, literally
The contents of the late scientist’s office are heading to the Science Museum in London – and it’s not the first workspace to be preserved in this way
Mock turtle soup in the museum
Heston Blumenthal’s homage to the famous dish is served up in the V&A’s Alice in Wonderland show
Extinction rebellion – the Jurassic parks of London and beyond
A band of dynamic dinosaurs is arriving in the UK this summer – but will they be a match for the Victorian sculptures at Crystal Palace Park?
In defence of giant squid sculptures
A town in Japan has spent coronavirus relief funds on a giant squid sculpture – a fine addition to the tradition of squid art, says Rakewell
Bittersweet moment: confecting Guernica out of chocolate
A team of Basque chocolatiers has made a life-size replica of Picasso’s monochrome masterpiece
This week only, you can do your weekly shop at the Design Museum
For five days the South Kensington museum has reopened as a supermarket, stocked with artist-designed essentials
Ramen reason: the art of the cup noodle
A museum devoted to the instant noodle has opened in Hong Kong – but it’s not the first time that ramen has been put to creative uses
Leonardo, heart-throb of the small screen
Rakewell suspects that Leonardo would have loved the invention of film and TV, but what would he have made of Aidan Turner, aka Ross Poldark, playing him?
Did somebody say Just Art?
Yes, it’s happened – a leading art collection is now available on a food delivery app
The world’s largest painting – a backbreaking endeavour, basically
Sacha Jafri’s vast canvas may have fetched $62m, but it also landed him in hospital – and he’s not the first artist to have suffered a work-related injury
It’s deepfake karaoke, Old Master style
The latest AI tool to go viral turns still images into singing videos – so warbling Mona Lisas and disco Holbeins are taking over your social feeds
NFT mania has swept the art world – and yes, that’s the scent of tulipomania.jpeg
Christie’s just sold a Jpeg file for a staggering $69.3 million. There’ll be a saving on shipping costs, if nothing else…
Pilgrims’ progress? The Vatican Jubilee has frustrated Romans and tourists alike