Reviews
In ‘Archive 81’, restoring VHS tapes turns out to be a complete nightmare
In this Netflix series a film conservator is tasked with rescuing a set of videotapes from the 1990s. What could possibly go wrong?
Travel agency – ‘Dürer’s Journeys’ at the National Gallery, reviewed
To trail the artist through Europe, as this lively exhibition does, is to realise that his art relied on movement
The man who made off with a Goya – ‘The Duke’, reviewed
Roger Michell’s last film tells the unlikely story of how the Duke of Wellington’s portrait was stolen from the National Gallery – and found in a train station four years later
Courting success – the colourful career of Luisa Roldán
The artist’s independence of mind and spectacular skill led to her becoming the first female sculptor to the Spanish king
The Georgian billionaire who is digging up the nation’s most majestic trees
Salomé Jashi’s film ‘Taming the Garden’ documents how a tree-hogging former prime minister is pillaging the landscape to create a private paradise
Light years ahead – ‘Isamu Noguchi’ at the Barbican, reviewed
The familiarity of the designer’s most famous products has long obscured his more utopian side
The peculiar perfectionism of Domenico Gnoli
In the six years before his tragically early death, the Italian artist zoomed in on the details of the everyday – to supremely unsettling effect
When it came to art, the religions of medieval Spain had a lot in common
Christianity, Judaism and Islam shared a visual language on the Iberian peninsula – but it was a fragile balance at the best of times
It’s time for Alan Lowndes to emerge from L.S. Lowry’s shadow
When it came to painting the industrial north-west, Stockport-born Alan Lowndes could hold his own
Vivienne Westwood’s rococo approach to fashion
The designer’s favourite museum is the Wallace Collection, so it’s no wonder her clothes are full of flourishes from Watteau, Boucher and Fragonard
True to form – Sophie Taeuber-Arp’s touching faith in geometry
In the course of her adventures in abstraction, the artist seemed determined to test herself in every available medium
The new Musée Carnavalet brings the history of Paris bang up to date
The museum devoted to the history of the Paris is itself an important part of that history – so it’s a relief that so many of its quirks remain
Altered estates – the English country houses that boomed in the post-war period
Adrian Tinniswood’s new book focuses on the aristocrats and rock stars who secured the futures of the houses they owned – or moved into
From the Andes to the Amazon, the cultures of Peru have produced astonishing work
The British Museum presents the mysteries and marvels of the Andean civilisations predating modern Peru
Cindy Sherman confirms that working from home can be murder
In what now seems like a warning from history, the artist’s only feature film is about a magazine editor who is forced to work at home
The restorers who took a creative approach to Renaissance paintings
A new study assesses 19th-century interventions on paintings by Giotto and other masters, and their impact on art history
The greatness of Constable’s lateness
In the decade before his death, John Constable developed a freer hand to follow new visions – to astonishing effect
When it came to art, Hogarth had no real beef with Europe
William Hogarth liked to present himself as a bluff Englishman, but the truth was a touch more complicated
Ruff and ready – how Frans Hals made his portraits crackle with life
The Dutch painter already knew the majority of the sitters in his lively portraits of merchants and dignitaries – and it shows
Up in the air – the photographs that defy the laws of gravity
What goes up inevitably must come down – but for a fleeting moment some photographers have tried to suggest otherwise
The messy reality of immaculate still lifes
Rebecca Birrell’s absorbing book asks us to look beneath the surface of work by women artists – but perhaps a rose sometimes really is just a rose?
Judging by his Old Masters, Norton Simon had a better eye than J. Paul Getty
Nicholas Penny’s survey of 17th- and 18th-century Italian paintings in the Norton Simon Museum reveals the astute figure behind the collections
Material differences – the abstract women sculptors with utterly distinct approaches
The artists featured in this exhibition didn’t share the same outlook or methods, but their variousness is part of the point
How Mary Quant defined the look of Swinging London
Sadie Frost’s documentary about the designer is hardly original, but then Quant didn’t actually invent the miniskirt – and it doesn’t hurt to be reminded of her genius
Are the art market’s problems being blown out of proportion?