Hull Maritime Museum has reopened after a six-year, £20m refit, and its extraordinary collection of art and artefacts of seafaring life is making waves once again
Why are a growing number of countries cashing in on animals, rather than historical figures, for the images on their currency?
Why don’t we still eat oysters with a sense of occasion – and of style to match?
Labels designed by the artist after a road trip through vineyards in Swartland and the West Coast pair perfectly with Eben Sadie’s Old Vine series
Everyone knows that the medieval masterpiece chronicles matters of high state, culminating in the Battle of Hastings, but its borders carry a much more riddling message
The ‘Madonna of Saint Sebastian’ shows the painter imbuing an old subject with new life – and recent restoration has brought his mastery of colour to the fore
For decades, a famous collection of antiquities has led a reclusive existence in Rome – but now a rolling programme of conservation and display is earning them new admirers
In a former Benedictine convent, Bernardino Luini’s fresco of the martyred saint is an unexpected source of comfort
For the Surrealist, alcohol provided both an escape from reality and a commercial opportunity
There’s more to coping with heatwaves than turning on the air con, especially if collections and visitors require different conditions
A domestic scene of comfort and ease by the American artist demonstrates her skill for conveying hidden depths
Ever wanted to know what it’s like to run a successful gallery, wrangle apprentices while painting a fresco or curate your own museum? These are the board games for you
One of the greatest landscape gardens in the Paris region has been painstakingly revived – and the results would make an Ancien Régime aristocrat proud
Feasting in medieval Europe was often a celebration of plenty, but it could just as easily be linked to damnation
Among this month’s highlights are a trove of Wiener Werkstätte postcards for the Neue Galerie and the National Gallery’s first Angelica Kauffman painting
The Australian artist’s studio has reopened with an exhibition of works made on his return home after a decade spent abroad
Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller’s landscapes seem idealised but their quietly radical nature put him at odds with the art establishment of his day
Established in 1852 by three brothers, the Alinari firm produced many of the oldest photographs of Italy and has left behind a vast archive in Florence
At the MAK in Vienna, placing gemstones alongside more everyday designs brings out the artistry in both
Edward Hicks made 62 versions of the same scene of worldly harmony – but they were tinged with personal tragedy too
When Félix Houphouët-Boigny became president of the newly independent nation in 1960, he planned a vast new capital. Today Yamoussoukro’s oversized architecture makes for a curious legacy
In depicting scenes of Bacchic revelry, painters such as Michaelina Wautier and Angelica Kauffman were tapping into an ancient ritual
Artists from Pinturicchio to the Pre-Raphaelites found a rich subject in Penelope’s marital fidelity – but is she as two-dimensional as they would have her?
From Lego versions of Impressionist paintings to Paint by Number kits, here are five ways you can copy your favourite artists and architects at home
