Reviews
French silver shines at the Getty
An open access publication celebrates glittering works from the 17th and 18th centuries
The Venetian painters who opened up a world of new possibilities
The lessons learned by the city’s painters in the 1500s brought about radical new forms of expression
Stage presence – the theatrical paintings of John Lavery
The artist could be a touch wooden at times, but a survey in Dublin shows that his best work is full of theatrical flair
A continental breakfast worth tucking into twice
Jean-Étienne Liotard depicted the same scene first in pastel, then 23 years later in oils – and both versions can be savoured for a time at the National Gallery in London
Nicolas de Staël’s art was unpredictable to the end
This long overdue retrospective shows that there was very little Nicolas de Staël coudn’t do as a painter
The fragile idylls of Frank Walter
The Antiguan-born painter spent his final years living off the land, but his scenes of paradise are more complicated than they seem
The sculptor who saw infinite possibilities in a line
After fleeing Nazi Germany for Venezuela, Gego made intricately-woven works from industrial materials
How to do things with words – and make art at the same time
At the Henry Moore Institute, artists and poets are hanging on to language for all they’ve got, finding meaning in the spaces between writing and objects
The cosmic fantasies of Remedios Varo
The Spanish-born Surrealist had a strong sense of order and a desire to remake the universe
Hockney gets personal at the National Portrait Gallery
The artist has turned his attention to the same five sitters time and again across his 60-year career, to touching effect
Lost in fantasy at the British Library
This impressive exhibition takes us through the very long history of a literary genre, but overlooks the part played by artists and illustrators
Nicole Eisenman tries to make sense of America
The artist’s smutty and satirical work wittily exposes the harsh realities of the recent past
Conservation targets – Hubert and Jan van Eyck, as we’ve never seen them before
New research and restoration offers fresh insights into the work of the Flemish masters
The budding stars of Irish botanical art
Patricia Butler’s account of 300 years of botanical drawings from Ireland is both a history of art and a history of science
How Finland eventually fell for Impressionism
The movement was slow to find favour in the north, but this gave Finnish artists time to take what they wanted from France
By Lake Lugano, two painters who really saw the light
Giacomo Balla and Piero Dorazio worked nearly 50 years apart, but a dazzling show reveals their shared interest in capturing sensations
How Iannis Xenakis abandoned architecture and remade modern music
The Greek polymath who once worked for Le Corbusier is the subject of an appropriately wide-ranging survey in Athens
Manet and Degas face off at the Met
The different approaches of the two great friends and rivals form a thrilling contrast when seen side by side
The Jewish designers who had success all sewn up
The Museum of London celebrates the designers who turned the capital into a fashion centre while also remembering the people who wore their clothes
The club for unconventional and international women who were ahead of their time
For 80 years, the Women’s International Art Club allowed artists to exhibit work that had yet to find wider acceptance
The Victorians who were drawn to colour
The Ashmolean’s new show vividly demonstrates how strong colours became a mainstay of 19th-century art
What Renoir saw by the sea in Guernsey
Nearly a century and a half after the painter’s trip to the Channel Islands, his paintings of Guernsey can now be compared to the actual views
Brute force – the savage post-war paintings of George Grosz
The artist’s later work is usually regarded as apolitical but, as the Stick Men paintings show, he produced some of his most savage work after the war
This year’s Turner Prize nominees display a weariness with institutions
The shortlisted artists highlight the fragility of the existing order, with the best of them upending what we expect from a show in a gallery
Martha Stewart’s recipe for success