Search results for: First Look

The east wall of the Salone dei Mesi in Palazzo Schifanoia, Ferrara, showing March, April and May, painted by Francesco del Cossa in 1469–70.

A farewell to boredom – at Palazzo Schifanoia in Ferrara

The 14th-century pleasure palace has reopened after a two-year renovation – and its mysteries are as diverting as ever

25 Sep 2020
Nalini Malani, photographed at home in Amsterdam in August 2020.

Art without borders – an interview with Nalini Malani

The artist talks about how the history of modern India has shaped her life and her desire to reach a wide audience

19 Sep 2020

Own your own Oval Office

If you’ve ever wanted to play president, now you can – if you have a few dollars spare to buy a replica of the Oval Office at Bonhams in October

18 Sep 2020
Imitation Lesson; Her Shadowed Influence from ‘A Countervailing Theory’ (2019), Toyin Ojih Odutola. Courtesy the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York; © © Toyin Ojih Odutola

Master class – a fictional civilisation makes its mark at the Barbican

Toyin Ojih Odutola’s scenes of a race of women warriors are a tour de force in pastel, charcoal and chalk

17 Sep 2020
Nude, East Sussex Coast (detail; 1959), Bill Brandt.

Common ground – the elemental forms of Bill Brandt and Henry Moore

The first exhibition to bring the sculptor and photographer together reveals intriguing points of convergence between their work

12 Sep 2020

Picking up the tabby – the T.S. Eliot estate helps out the Brontë Parsonage Museum

The T.S. Eliot estate has donated £20,000 to help keep the Brontë Parsonage Museum open. Rakewell wonders what the Brontë sisters would have made of ‘Cats’

11 Sep 2020
Le cerveau de l'enfant (detail; 1914), Giorgio de Chirico.

Giorgio de Chirico: Metaphysical Painting

Works by the Italian artist alongside those of contemporaries including Morandi and Carlo Carrà

Musée de l’Orangerie, Paris
NOW CLOSED
Franco Maria Ricci, photographed in the library of his home near the Labirinto della Masone in Fontanellato, near Parma, in July 2019.

Franco Maria Ricci (1937–2020)

The legendary Italian publisher has died at the age of 82. In this republished profile from 2019, he opened his library and richly idiosyncratic art collection to Apollo

11 Sep 2020

What not to miss as Art Paris opens in the Grand Palais

Highlights of the first modern and contemporary art fair to take place in Europe since the continent locked down

9 Sep 2020
Robert Freeman (1936–2019)

The late Robert Freeman was the Beatles’ favourite photographer – and now his entire archive has been stolen

From his portraits of Khrushchev and John Coltrane to celebrated album covers for the Beatles, Freeman’s entire archive was taken just weeks after his death

8 Sep 2020
A contemporary art auction at Strauss & Co in 2019

How Strauss & Co became the global leader for South African art at auction

The auction house has played a leading role in developing international interest in modern and contemporary art from South Africa and beyond

7 Sep 2020

Marina Abramovic stars in an opera about Maria Callas – but doesn’t sing

Rakewell is disappointed not to hear the performance artist’s pipes in her new project at the Bavarian State Opera

6 Sep 2020
Le Stryge (detail; c. 1853), Charles Nègre.

Notre-Dame de Paris: From Victor Hugo to Eugène Viollet-le-Duc

How Quasimodo brought the great cathedral to the world’s attention

Archaeological Crypt of the Île de la Cité, Paris
NOW CLOSED
‘Protect your Eyes’ (c. 1942) designed by Manfred Reiss and G.R. Morris (left).

‘Where are the posters to inform and persuade us in a pandemic?’

Posters are a powerful tool in clear and consistent public health-messaging – so why aren’t we seeing more of them?

1 Sep 2020
(1936), Barnett Freedman for London Transport.

‘Britain’s most visible artist’ – Barnett Freedman at Pallant House, reviewed

Freedman’s engaging designs were once impossible to avoid – and his lesser-known war paintings are a revelation

1 Sep 2020
The Rothko Chapel, Houston (pre-restoration; opened in 1971).

Leap of faith – how Mark Rothko reimagined religious art for the modern age

For his chapel commission in Houston, the painter engaged with religion on his own terms – and forged a new, modern relevance for sacred art

29 Aug 2020
A detail of George Mayer-Marton’s mosaic and fresco before the latter was painted over.

A threatened mural in Oldham illuminates a key moment in British art

George Mayer-Marton was an accomplished, influential émigré artist – and his Crucifixion for the Church of the Holy Rosary in Oldham must be protected

26 Aug 2020
Desmond Guinness. Photo: Amelia Stein; courtesy Irish Georgian Society

‘An amplitude of personal charm’ – Desmond Guinness (1931–2020)

Desmond Guinness fought against the odds, and often against public opinion, to save Irish Georgian houses – and the nation will be forever in his debt

24 Aug 2020
Félix Fénéon (detail; 1894), Alphonse Bertillon.

Félix Fénéon: The Anarchist and the Avant-Garde – From Signac to Matisse and Beyond

MoMA reopens with a look at the career of this enigmatic critic, dealer, and champion of the avant-garde

21 Aug 2020
Dorothea Lange, from ‘Day Sleeper’ by Dorothea Lange and Sam Contis (detail), Library of Congress. Courtesy MACK

‘I found a Dorothea Lange who was new to me’ – an interview with Sam Contis

The artist Sam Contis talks about mining a rich seam in the personal archive of Dorothea Lange, and the parallels between Lange’s work and her own photography

21 Aug 2020
Seen – Edmonia Lewis

A biography of Edmonia Lewis takes on a life of its own

A meticulously researched graphic novel about the sculptor Edmonia Lewis is a suitably original tribute to the enterprising artist

21 Aug 2020

Could museums have done more to protect their employees?

On both sides of the Atlantic, museums are laying off staff in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Gareth Harris and Matt Stromberg consider whether bad decisions have made the situation worse

21 Aug 2020
Self-Portrait: An Unfinished Work (detail; 2011), Eric Fischl

Uncertainty principle – an interview with Eric Fischl

The American artist looks back at a career firmly dedicated to painting and the possibilities of figurative art

16 Aug 2020
After Tsunami Galu Afi, Lalomanu (2013), Yuki Kihara. Christchurch Art Gallery Te Puna o Waiwhetū

Sea change – a fresh perspective on the art of Oceania

A rehang of Christchurch Art Gallery’s permanent collections emphasises non-European patterns of influence

12 Aug 2020