Lucy Ellmann is troubled by an eerily realistic 19th-century painting of a cat behind bars
The museum holds the world’s largest collection of Japanese art outside Japan itself – and now has suitably meditative spaces to match
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 language we use to describe the sweet course at the end of a meal is more revealing than we think
Christian Boltanski’s installation at the Museo per la Memoria di Ustica is a stark tribute to the victims of an unsolved tragedy
Given Hitler’s unrealised plans for a museum of looted art in Linz, the futuristic Ars Electronica festival is a triumph for the city, but there’s no room for complacence
Château Smith Haut Lafitte is a vineyard sprinkled with the sensibility of an English country garden
The Museum of West African Art points to a new path for creating an institution from scratch and more imaginative ways of dealing with the colonial past
A regular haunt of artists, dealers and curators, Sally Clarke’s restaurant in Kensington has been a beacon of unfussy excellence for 40 years
A 17th-century portrait of a bookseller from Lombardy and a breviary from the library of Charles V are among this month’s highlights
The French artist was largely ignored by his peers, but his uncanny painting of a snake is a masterpiece
The museum is set to close in 2025, leaving a hole in the city’s arts scene and adding to growing disquiet about its general direction
The sculptor’s witty animal-like sculptures are dotted around the grounds of his house in the Cotswolds – and they feel right at home there
Plus: the subversive art of Kapwani Kiwanga, Georgie Hopton’s delightful prints and a brief history of drawing on blue paper
Plus: the Sikh Empire under Ranjit Singh, the trailblazing art of Lygia Clark and the serene ceramics of Magdalene Odundo
Plus: the light sculptures of Anthony McCall, paintings by Frank Auerbach and his teacher David Bomberg, and Nordic nature scenes
Plus: playful sculptures by Nairy Baghramian, revelatory paintings by Van Gogh, and the changing nature of beauty through the ages
Curator Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev explains how the artist’s Venus of the Rags embodies the innovative spirit of the Italian movement
At its peak, the Mughal empire brought together scholars and artists of different languages and faiths to create art fit for kings
The learned institution has always been important to art historians, but a major new refurbishment will give it a higher profile
Berthe Weill was as devoted to young artists as she was to the cause of modern art – and her efforts are now receiving belated recognition
Scenes of rowdy bars and tipsy revellers in the 20th century show a world that is both alien and comfortingly familiar
Sarah Moss returns to a Pre-Raphaelite painting that made a lasting impression on her when she was a teenager
As the collection of Renaissance silver Selim Zilkha formed with his wife Mary comes to auction, his children Michael and Nadia recall their father’s dazzling hobby
