In Turin, the world’s oldest Egyptian museum turns 200
Museums devoted solely to Egyptian antiquities are rare and Turin’s also tells the story of Italy’s long and complex relationship with the land of the pharaohs
Mark Bradford keeps on testing the limits of painting
Pots of gold – the soaring market for Chinese ceramics
Chinese art from the 14th century onwards has long ruled the art market, but prices for work from earlier periods are catching up fast
Slovak National Gallery’s department heads resign – with 177 staff threatening to follow
Plus: Rotterdam becomes first Dutch city to return colonial objects to Indonesia; and City of London votes to close Smithfield and Billingsgate markets for good
Heralding Mouton Rothschild’s entry into the modern age
As the chateau unveils its latest wine label, Gérarde Garouste is inspired by a key figure in its recent past
The museums with naked ambitions
A series of naturist nights at a museum in Marseille is a salutary reminder that the term ‘art buff’ can have more than one meaning
Advert
Plate expectations – a brief history of artist-designed crockery
Picasso, Lichtenstein, Emin and others have all designed plates, but treating them only as art objects ruins the fun
The Maori artist remapping New Zealand’s landscape
Cora-Allan revives traditional techniques and materials in her thoughtful meditations on the myths and history of her home country
Advert
In the studio with… Stanley Donwood
Best known for his designs for Radiohead’s album covers, the artist enjoys the sea air but laments the fug of wood varnish in his Brighton studio
In the studio with… Ai-Da
The AI-powered humanoid robot talks Apollo through her studio routine, which involves listening to Chopin and pondering the strangeness of her own existence
December 2024
• The floral paintings of Rachel Ruysch
• What do museums think about climate protests?
• Turin’s Egyptian Museum at 200
• The winners of the Apollo Awards 2024
Also: An interview with Jeff Wall, the wild imagination of Maurice Sendak, spies and socialists at the Isokon building, and the ever-closer ties between luxury brands and the art world; reviews of Jacopo Bassano in Helsinki, art along the Silk Roads, the colourful interiors of Pierre Bonnard, and the art of predicting the future. Plus: John Banville on the sensuality of a late Rubens
When London had a much richer interior life
A new book by Steven Brindle lovingly catalogues the lavish interiors that could once be found in London’s grandest houses but are now lost
Tirzah Garwood in her own words
As a large exhibition of her work opens in London, this modern British artist’s autobiography makes for a colourful companion piece
‘It’s a decorative art, it’s more than fashion’ – Francesca Galloway talks about collecting couture
A leading dealer in Indian paintings and textiles, she also has an extensive collection of 20th-century haute couture – and the two seem to go together nicely
Advert
What do museums really think about climate protests?
The targeting of well-known artworks for shock value puts institutions in a bind. Should they engage with the protestors, or are they turning away from the issues being raised?
The animal instincts of Jacopo Bassano
In his striking pastoral and biblical scenes, the 16th-century Venetian painter turned beasts into sensitive protagonists
‘I like to capture primal sorts of things’ – an interview with Jeff Wall
The Canadian artist is best known for his large, tableau-like photographs. In a year of several international exhibitions, he talks Craig Burnett through the complex process of making them
Art that’s good enough to eat
The $6m acquisition at auction of a Maurizio Cattelan banana has been widely mocked, but perhaps the buyer’s intention to eat his purchase is a noble one
How Oxford became a pale shade of its former self
The replacement of Boswell’s department store with a luxury hotel is part of a beautification process that has gathered pace in recent years
The dreams of the Surrealists have become the stuff of our reality
The ideas and images of the artists who unleashed their unconscious on the world a century ago are now part of the fabric of everyday life
The cosmic art of Liliane Lijn
The artist has pursued her interest in light, motion and myth across drawing, sculpture and performance for six decades, but it’s her openness to new ideas that really defines her work
The Mughal emperors who forged a new artistic tradition
At its peak, the Mughal empire brought together scholars and artists of different languages and faiths to create art fit for kings
Fresh Window: The Art of Display & Display of Art
Tinguely and Warhol worked as window-dressers; Dalí and Duchamp had dalliances with shop displays. Art and commerce go under the spotlight in Basel
Semiha Berksoy: Singing in Full Colour
Turkey’s first female opera singer was also a painter who had close ties with Germany, and is now the subject of a survey in Berlin
My Teddy Bear
The king of cuddly toys gets the red-carpet treatment at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Paris – but life hasn’t always been a picnic for our faux-furry friends
Parmigianino: The Vision of Saint Jerome
After a ten-year conservation project, Parmigianino’s youthful masterpiece is ready to take part in the National Gallery’s bicentenary celebrations