Rakewell
How often should anyone think about the Roman empire?
While #romanempire has more than a billion view on TikTok, some of us only have eyes for the TV adaptation of ’I Claudius’ – and regrets about the Roman Republic
How to fast-forward through Guernica
The Reina Sofia has lifted its ban on taking selfies with Picasso’s masterpiece in order, incredibly, to speed up visitor flow
Artwashing really works – just ask Theresa May
Judging by reactions to Saied Dai’s well-received painting of the former prime minister, a good portrait can still work wonders
Are museums realising that the best things happen after dark?
Rakewell applauds the ICA London’s revolutionary new opening hours
How to dress like Jane Austen
The Library of Congress’s Literary Costume Ball has set Rakewell thinking about the pros and cons of taking sartorial inspiration from famous authors
A night to remember at the Eiffel Tower
It has been a monumental week for Paris’s leading tourist attraction. Let us hope recent events have distracted La Dame de Fer from an unhappy matter of the heart
I can’t get no… satisfactory statuary
The Rolling Stones’ Mick Jagger and Keith Richards have been immortalised in bronze, but it leaves a bad taste in Rakewell’s mouth
Doing it in Style – when Harry met Hockney
Two national treasures are going tête-à-tête at the National Portrait Gallery, but this isn’t the pop star’s first brush with a museum
X marks the spot? Probably not in the case of Elon Musk
The social media site has had what Musk dubiously dubs an ‘art deco’ rebrand
Ringing the changes – what’s so special about a telephone box?
Historic England has followed Beyonce’s wise words and put a ring on it, as the iconic K8 phone box has been Grade II-listed
What made Grayson Perry show his true colours?
Rakewell has spotted an infamous shade popping up at art world parties
Madonna keeps her feet firmly off the ground
Clues to the popstar’s creative process can be found on her coffee table – in a book of illustrations by John Willie, foot-fetishist extraordinaire
Indiana Jones defies (the UNESCO) convention
Real archaeologists are probably right to regard their famous fictional colleague as a renegade, but he’s a useful reminder of what not to do on a dig
Hell is more compelling than heaven, say scientists
Research proves that viewers linger longest over the torments in Bosch’s Garden of Earthly Delights. What that says about humanity, God only knows.
Portrait of the King as a Young Artist
As Charles III’s juvenilia comes to auction, Rakewell’s thoughts turn to other members of the royal family who have displayed artistic tendencies
The hunt for the Loch Ness Monster continues
Rakewell isn’t about to quit the city to stake it all on a monster hunt – but there have been some significant sightings in museum collections
Hangdog expressions and haunted royal hounds
A painting of Marie Antoinette’s favourite dog has sold over the odds, but life for Pompon and other rococo-styled pooches was no walk in the park
The price of nothing and the value of everything
A surprising statement from Nicholas Serota leads Rakewell to reflect on the nature of ‘value’
How to live like Courtney Love
The grunge goddess seems very comfortable in her celebrity skin these days, if a recent interview is anything to go by
The Olivia de Havilland sale deserves to be a soaring success
The actor best known for playing the saintly Melanie Hamilton in ‘Gone with the Wind’ was made of much sterner stuff in real life
The National Gallery throws its director to the wolves
Guests at the opening of ‘Saint Francis of Assisi’ included two very fetching wolf-dogs. Rakewell regrets not making their acquaintance.
A surprise pest of honour at the Met Gala
The sensational appearance of a cockroach at this year’s Met Gala leads Rakewell to reflect on other star turns performed by the creepy-crawly
I want it all – Freddie Mercury’s collection comes under the hammer
Sotheby’s claims the rockstar was also a fervent art collector but Rakewell can’t help wonder if this is just fantasy?
Live like Kendall Roy, if you have $29m to spare (or like Roman for $38m)
Succession fans with millions to spend can now live like the Roy brother of their choice (as ever, that doesn’t include Connor)
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