Writing Worth Reading
Writing Worth Reading
There is something exhilarating about a truly hostile review, whether deserved or not. This one begins: "The last time I saw paintings as deluded as Damien Hirst's latest works, the artist's name was Saif al-Islam Gaddafi"
Enjoyable blogpost on how people interact with museum exhibits. Suggests we often look at paintings for just three seconds, and very rarely for more than 45. Fine art encourages us to walk in orderly fashion, but not so modern art
A painting from the Hermitage called "The Flight into Egypt" is the centrepiece of a Titian exhibition in London. The piece has just been restored and hasn't been seen outside Russia in well over a century. Is it really a Titian?
"The pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hajj, is the supreme expression of global Islam. This year more than 2.5 million Muslims will undertake the journey." By 2030, that number is expected to have grown to 20 million. Here's what it means
On the Renaissance Portrait exhibition in New York. "What makes this art so significant is how it turns toward the individual, toward the secular as the subject of art, rendering the face with the 'natural' features of the person"
It's become unfashionable to talk about art having any purpose; art is merely "for art's sake". But what if museums bore in mind didactic function of Christian art to present their collections differently? To suggest a meaning
"In old age Hockney has acquired a clumsy bravura. He is surrounded by sycophants. What fire he once had has become a thing of ash and ember." Review of show at Royal Academy, "the grand old whore of Piccadilly"
It was 1931 when Jean de Brunhoff released The Story of Babar. 80 years on, his son Laurent reflects on the legacy of the illustrated books that have brought joy to so many children. And caused such uproar among academic critics
Reviewing the life, work of artist David Hockney. A man who divides critics. Whilst generally admired as one of the finest draughtsmen of his generation, his finished works draw mixed reactions. How will he be seen in years to come?
An appreciation of Leonardo da Vinci via a review of major exhibition of his work in London. "He could abstract, he could dissect, he could splice, and at the end he could deliver life – life such as no painter had delivered before"
Visit to the Museum of Kabul reveals precarious history of Afghanistan's treasures. Don't expect tour guides or glossy catalogues. Indeed "often, there are no signs at all. And there are rarely any visitors"
Investigation of changing attitudes, law and law enforcement in murky world of antiquities dealing. Told through the story of statue of Aphrodite, once prized possession of world's richest art institution, now back in Italy
Tour around the truly incredible Leonardo exhibition at the National Gallery in London, with curator Luke Syson
"Economists have the least influence on policy where they know the most and are most agreed. They have the most influence on policy where they know the least and disagree most"
