Reviews
What we say when we say it with flowers
Artists and writers have always been fascinated by flowers – and we all like receiving them – but some floral arrangements are more sinister than others
Drinking wine in ancient Greece was a divine but demanding business
The gods were great sticklers for ceremony and frowned on oenophiles who didn’t observe the rules
Dust jackets and dinner jackets – the man who illustrated Bond
Richard Chopping’s striking designs for Ian Fleming’s novels add greatly to the books’ allure for collectors – but his artistic talent went far beyond Bond
Eyes on the ball – the new art gallery at the Spurs stadium is an unexpected winner
Exit through the gift shop at Tottenham Hotspur and you’ll find a gallery full of art inspired by the beautiful game
Do paintings have minds of their own?
Not all works of art need be interpreted – some simply demand that we spend some quality time with them
John Crome is forgotten today – but he once ranked alongside Constable and Turner
John Crome was among the greatest English landscape painters of his day – but you’ve probably never heard of him
The flamboyant painters who made a spectacle of themselves
Nicola Suthor’s study of the self-confident style known as ‘bravura’ is something of a virtuoso affair
It’s time Laura Knight was rescued from the ranks of the middlebrow
The British artist rejected modernism, but in life as in art she was hardly conservative
This colour chart of nature is completely mad – and utterly beguiling
An Enlightenment project to classify all the colours in the natural world is an extraordinary feat of ingenuity
Grotto fabulous – Marie Antoinette’s decorative dairy was no rustic retreat
The dairy at Rambouillet was a masterpiece of neoclassical design
The Italian dynasty that kept all of Europe thoroughly entertained
For more than a century, the Bibiena family created spectacular sets that delighted and deceived audiences
Keys to success: how typewriters transformed the world of work
Typewriters may be museum pieces now, but they created office jobs for women and by doing so changed the 20th century
At the Fondazione Prada, painting refuses to play dead
Peter Fischli has curated a show about the demise of painting – but his take is that it’s still very much alive
Capital gains: how Gainsborough took London by storm
When the painter finally moved to the capital, he was quick to make the most of the opportunities on offer
The man who designed modern Britain
Tom Eckersley’s posters are rightfully regarded as masterpieces – partly because he worked with clients who were also first-rate
The late, great landscapes of Rubens, reunited at last
A pair of monumental landscapes painted in his later years offer an unusually personal glimpse of the artist himself
For Eileen Agar, the natural world was a playground of artistic possibilities
The British artist looked to nature to provide material for her surreal creations
The second coming of Isidore Isou
The founder of Lettrism wasn’t the only avant-garde artist with a god complex, but he may have been the most messianic
Cultural evolution – ‘Epic Iran’ at the Victoria and Albert Museum, reviewed
A whirlwind journey through 5,000 years of Iranian civilisation charts change and continuity in a culture that has absorbed all manner of influences
Returns policy – The Brutish Museums by Dan Hicks, reviewed
Is it enough for Western museums to say how they came by their colonial-era artefacts – or should they just give them back?
At Versailles, Marie Antoinette’s private retreat plays host to a madcap menagerie
François-Xavier and Claude Lalanne’s fantastical creations are making mischief at the Trianon estate this summer
Mugs, jugs and modern art – Ben Nicholson at Pallant House, reviewed
The painter had a keen eye for crockery – and the best pieces from his collection got to star in his art
How to cook like a minimalist architect
Recipes from the table of John Pawson are as pared-back as his architecture – which is all a little too perfect
How Kraków’s royal tapestries returned to their rightful home
These great tapestries have a turbulent history that has seen them held by Russia and in Canada – but now they’re back in the rooms where they first hung
The many faces of Mary Magdalene