Rakewell

An eye-opening look at Girl with a Pearl Earring

A new study breaks down viewers’ reactions to Vermeer’s most famous work – a welcome reminder that artists have long had stratagems for seducing the eye

4 Oct 2024

Winter is coming, so why not bid for your very own piece of Game of Thrones?

Now is your chance to bid for Jon Snow’s sword, Jaime Lannister’s golden hand, or even the head of a direwolf to stave off the darkness that lies ahead

29 Sep 2024

Justice for Moo Deng, the internet’s favourite hippo

The rapid rise to fame of a baby pygmy hippopotamus in Thailand has raised concerns about her well-being – and about who will own her image rights

20 Sep 2024

Elizabeth Bennet gets a strange new lease of life

Visitors to Jane Austen’s House will soon be able to ‘meet’ the popular Pride and Prejudice character, but will her avatar make a good first impression?

13 Sep 2024

Anna Sorokin puts her best foot forward

Undeterred by a security tag on her ankle, the convicted con artist is taking to the small screen for Dancing with the Stars

6 Sep 2024

The artists who have come to the defence of the dodo

An art collection assembled by a ‘Dodo-ologist’ is heading to auction, but not everyone has had the same level of enthusiasm for the bird

30 Aug 2024

Why are paint names causing such a hue and cry?

PETA is throwing shade at the paint company Farrow & Ball for its use of vegan-unfriendly paint names, but coming up with terms for colours is easier said than done

23 Aug 2024

Is the art of medical drama in good health?

Some artists’ stories are entwined with hospitals and healthcare institutions – Andy Warhol getting shot, Vincent van Gogh checking in…

16 Aug 2024

Should art be an Olympic sport? Perhaps it already is

While Pharrell has called for art to be part of the official competition again, let’s not ignore the artists currently making their presence felt in Paris – and the athletes with art-historical credentials

9 Aug 2024

France counts the cost of a feast for the British king

The eyewateringly expensive banquet President Macron held for Charles III belongs to a long history of conspicuous royal consumption

2 Aug 2024

The luxury brands giving the Olympics a certain je ne sais quoi

The LVMH stable, from Louis Vuitton to Chaumet, is ensuring that Paris 2024 will get a gold medal for aesthetics, as sport gets increasingly stylish

26 Jul 2024

Bacchus sets the pulse racing in Florence

A tourist has been caught in the throes of passion with a statue of the god of wine, but perhaps she was merely giving into the effects of Stendhal syndrome

19 Jul 2024

Let the games begin – Gladiator II is on the way

A three-minute-long trailer for Ridley Scott’s sequel to Gladiator drops tantalising clues about what kind of spectacle to expect in November

14 Jul 2024

The Rubik’s Cube throws up a new conundrum

The famous puzzle turns 50 this year, but the exact date of its birthday is a mystery that brings into question the very nature of time itself

5 Jul 2024

Kendall Jenner is let loose in the Louvre

Was the reality star consciously emulating the Italian mannerists when she embarked on a night-time tour of France’s most hallowed museum sans footwear?

28 Jun 2024

Donald Sutherland’s brush with Gauguin

Obituaries of the actor are rightly lauding his work in M*A*S*H, Don’t Look Now and JFK, but fail to mark his indelible performance as one of the leading post-Impressionists

21 Jun 2024

Dior cruises through Scotland’s chequered history

The fashion megabrand has used Drummond Castle in Scotland as the backdrop for a new campaign – but was it fully clued up about the site’s colourful history?

7 Jun 2024

Once upon a time in Tasmania for the Wu-Tang

The Museum of Old and New Art is offering a rare chance to listen to the only copy of Once Upon A Time in Shaolin in existence, but what will happen to the album next?

2 Jun 2024

Bridgerton takes liberties with the past – and Liberty takes liberties with Bridgerton

Bridgerton provides all manner of pleasures on screen, but can a real-life partnership with Liberty come up to snuff?

24 May 2024

Cashville skyline – an abstract Bob Dylan is up for auction

The musician once gave this painting away for free, but the times, they have a-changed and he not busy being born is busy buying

18 May 2024

Kendrick, Drake and the art of the feud

The rappers remain locked in a vicious musical battle, but how does it compare with other artistic rivalries over the years?

10 May 2024

Is the Pope an art fan?

The Pontiff touched down in Venice this week, but God knows what he thought of the art on display at the Biennale’s Vatican pavilion

3 May 2024

Who will make a killing from Messi’s contract?

The maestro’s first contract with FC Barcelona, written on a napkin, has been withdrawn from auction after a dispute between his current and former agents

26 Apr 2024

What Liz Truss could learn from the Bank of England

The out-lettuced PM has little time for culture in her memoir-cum-manifesto – unlike her Establishment enemy, the Bank of England

21 Apr 2024