Established in 1852 by three brothers, the Alinari firm produced many of the oldest photographs of Italy. Sophie Barling visits its vast archive in Florence.

View-finding in Italy

Established in 1852 by three brothers, the Alinari firm produced many of the oldest photographs of Italy. Sophie Barling visits its vast archive in Florence

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At the MAK in Vienna, placing jewellery by Van Cleef & Arpels alongside more everyday designs brings out the artistry in both, writes Edward Behrens

Jewel purpose: the art of Van Cleef & Arpels

At the MAK in Vienna, placing gemstones alongside more everyday designs brings out the artistry in both, writes Edward Behrens

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‘From Poussin to Picasso, there are countless painters who have tried to contain women going wild on canvas.’ But what about women artists? Christina Makris revels in the paintings made by Michaelina Wautier, Angelica Kauffman and others on a Bacchanalian theme

The women painters inspired by Bacchus

Christina Makris revels in the paintings made by artists such as Michaelina Wautier and Angelica Kauffmann on a Bacchanalian theme

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Abby Aldrich Rockefeller was an important 20th-century champion of folk art, and works from her collection are on display at MoMA – a museum she co-founded – until tomorrow. The exhibition prompted Robert Rubsam to wonder if the distinction between fine and folk art has any meaning any more

Who gets to be an American artist?

Folk art is getting a brief moment in the sun at MoMA – inviting the question of why these artists don’t feature in the museum’s permanent displays, writes Robert Rubsam

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Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller’s landscapes seem idealised but their quietly radical nature put him at odds with the Austrian art establishment of his day, explains Arnika Groenewald-Schmidt.

Austrian landscape painting from the ground up

Ferdinand Georg Waldmüller’s landscapes may seem idealised but their quietly radical nature put him at odds with the art establishment, explains Arnika Groenewald-Schmidt

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The architects of Britain and Ireland’s best-loved buildings have received a good deal of attention, but what about the men who actually built them? William Aslet salutes the craftsmen who deserve a piece of the limelight

The craftsmen with a material understanding of architecture

The architects of Britain and Ireland’s best-loved buildings have received a good deal of attention, but what about the men who built them? William Aslet salutes the craftsmen who deserve a piece of…

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For Anni Albers, who wanted to create structure out of simple materials, the knot was the perfect object: a three-dimensional form made from two-dimensional thread. Rachel Cohen makes the case for the artist’s weaving as a form of conceptual art.

The knotty thinking of Anni Albers

Her use of textiles means that Albers is often seen as a decorative or craft artist. But what if we regard her work as abstract art with a genuinely wide appeal? By Rachel Cohen

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The Basilica of Notre-Dame de la Paix in Yamoussoukro is taller than St Peter’s in the Vatican, replete with 368 vast Roman-style columns and able to host some 200,000 congregants inside and out. Andrew Jones considers what makes it an enduring symbol of Côte d’Ivoire’s postcolonial ambitions

How Côte d’Ivoire’s capital scaled up

When Félix Houphouët-Boigny became president of the newly independent nation in 1960, he planned a vast new capital. Today Yamoussoukro’s oversized architecture makes for a curious legacy, writes…

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The paintings of Michael Andrews were set apart from the dominant styles of his day, and the range of his references, ‘incorporating elements sourced from 19th-century etchings, trashy magazine articles or works of art he held up as totems’, made him seem even more elusive, writes Digby Warde-Aldam.

The understated genius of Michael Andrews

The singular paintings of one of the unshowier School of London painters are ripe for discovery, writes Digby Warde-Aldam

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The photography studio founded by the Alinari brothers in Florence in the 1850s played a large part in shaping how the rest of the world came to see Italy. Today, the extraordinary archives the firm left behind are a testament to this technological and artistic revolution.

View-finding in Italy

Established in 1852 by three brothers, the Alinari firm produced many of the oldest photographs of Italy. Sophie Barling visits its vast archive in Florence

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‘These paintings are called upon to demonstrate the quiet persistence of Dutch values – religious tolerance, individualism, free trade and intellectual pluralism – during the United States’ formative years.’ Noah Margulis reviews ‘Old Masters, New Amsterdam’ at the New York Historical

Can the Dutch masters help us imagine New Amsterdam?

The New York Historical tries to picture everyday life in Dutch-owned New York, with varying degrees of success, writes Noah Margulis

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‘The tigers of William Blake and Henri Rousseau might look on with mesmerised eyes; you could even detect Dürer’s lion leaping in there.’ Philip Hoare is charmed by Edward Hicks’s eccentric vision of peace on earth.

The Quaker who painted what he preached

Edward Hicks made 62 versions of the same scene of worldly harmony – but they were tinged with personal tragedy too, writes Philip Hoare

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‘By placing works from its own collection alongside those from the MAK collection, Van Cleef & Arpels is hoping to establish a parity between the craftsmanship in both sets.’ Edward Behrens is dazzled by the art of Van Cleef & Arpels at the MAK in Vienna

Jewel purpose: the art of Van Cleef & Arpels

At the MAK in Vienna, placing gemstones alongside more everyday designs brings out the artistry in both, writes Edward Behrens

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Joe Brainard produced two issues of the ‘C Comics’, for which he did all the artwork and got the leading lights of New York School – Frank O’Hara, James Schuyler, Barbara Guest and more – to write all the dialogue. Todd McEwen salutes the startling results

How Joe Brainard and friends sent up consumer society

The C Comics drawn by the artist with words by New York School writers are a call to unconformity, writes Todd McEwen

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Kaiser Wilhelm II disapproved of Berlin’s Nationalgalerie buying French Impressionist art and displaying it prominently. On the centenary of the death of Paul Cassirer, the dealer who helped many of these paintings into the collection, the museum is giving them pride of place, writes Conrad Landin

How French Impressionism took hold in Germany

The Berlin-based dealer Paul Cassirer introduced French Impressionism to German collectors and museums before doing the same for the German artists of his day, writes Conrad Landin

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‘For critics who decry the direction of contemporary heritage organisations as marching in lockstep with wokery, Hall’s book is a significant corrective.’ Oliver Cox welcomes a rigorously researched exploration of the bachelors who left their pads to the nation.

The bachelors who left their pads to the nation

Michael Hall’s new book explores the role played by queer culture in preserving country houses for the public, writes Oliver Cox

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‘Most people don’t understand how exceptional and strange it is.’ Xavier Salomon talks to Edward Behrens about the Calouste Gulbenkian Museum’s outstanding collection and outlines his plans for the future.

New look, new director: what’s next for Lisbon’s best museum?

The director of the newly renovated Calouste Gulbenkian Museum in Lisbon talks to Edward Behrens about its ambitious renovation and his vision for the future

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What happened to Islamic ceramics in museums before they went on display? Tom Hardwick is impressed by a lively new study that pieces together a fuller picture

The forgers who remade Islamic ceramics

What happened to artefacts in museums before they went on display? A lively new study gives us the fuller picture, writes Tom Hardwick

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A close reading of rules and regulations in the Middle Ages suggests that we have much to learn from the lives of Benedictine monks and nuns, writes Francesca Peacock

Doing things by the book in the Middle Ages

The lives of Benedictine monks and nuns have much to teach us, if a display of medieval and contemporary art at the Sainsbury Centre is anything to go by, writes Francesca Peacock

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‘Yamoussoukro feels like a large suit with a rather small body inside, a vision of a future that never happened.’ Andrew Jones on how Côte d’Ivoire’s capital scaled up.

How Côte d’Ivoire’s capital scaled up

When Félix Houphouët-Boigny became president of the newly independent Côte d’Ivoire in 1960, he planned a vast new capital. Today Yamoussoukro’s oversized architecture makes for a curious legacy,…

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‘Her ideas and designs are still a part of the ordinary lives of ordinary people when they move fabric around in their rooms to create and affect space.’ Rachel Cohen considers Anni Albers’ democratic approach to abstract art.

The knotty thinking of Anni Albers

Her use of textiles means that Albers is often seen as a decorative or craft artist. But what if we regard her work as abstract art with a genuinely wide appeal? By Rachel Cohen

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With the personal archive of Colonel Sanders sold at auction last week, Rakewell considers some of the more memorable times the KFC founder has been immortalised in paint – not least by the actor Mike Myers.

Order yourself a nugget of fast food history

The personal archive of Colonel Sanders went to auction this week – and bidders certainly had their eyes on the fries, says Rakewell

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A long-overdue study of the School of London painter Michael Andrews is ‘authoritative, impeccably sourced and often downright gossipy’, writes Digby Warde-Aldam.

The understated genius of Michael Andrews

The singular paintings of one of the unshowier School of London painters are ripe for discovery, writes Digby Warde-Aldam

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Edward Hicks’s series of paintings imagining a ‘Peaceable Kingdom’ on earth were deep expressions of his Quaker faith. But they were tinged with personal tragedy too, writes Philip Hoare.

The Quaker who painted what he preached

Edward Hicks made 62 versions of the same scene of worldly harmony – but they were tinged with personal tragedy too, writes Philip Hoare

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‘Not only does it provide a new licensing revenue stream, but since it does not extend to AI training, it also protects Getty’s content from being used to improve the capabilities of potential competitors.’ Emily Gould on the Getty/OpenAI deal and why photo agencies are working with AI companies.

Why is the world’s largest image library partnering with OpenAI?

Getty Images has signed a display agreement with OpenAI, raising questions for the future of image libraries – and for the fair treatment of artists, writes Emily Gould

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Lego’s Sagrada Família set is now available to pre-order and, at 12,060 pieces, it’s a sizeable undertaking – but hopefully won’t take as long as the real thing.

How to build your own masterpiece

From Lego versions of Impressionist paintings to Paint by Number kits, here are five ways you can copy your favourite artists and architects at home

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As a young artist, Gillian Ayres was inspired by Abstract Expressionists including Jackson Pollock. But her most powerful paintings, writes Lucy Waterson, capture a style that was entirely her own, even if it kept changing.

Re-entering the orbit of Gillian Ayres

An exhibition at the Box in Plymouth brings renewed attention to the British artist’s colourful, cacophonous paintings, writes Lucy Waterson

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‘Alinari was the first firm permitted to photograph works in the Uffizi. It had already published the first album of views of Tuscany – photographs of monuments, buildings and vistas in Florence.’ Sophie Barling visits the archives of the firm that shaped how the world came to see Italy.

View-finding in Italy

Established in 1852 by three brothers, the Alinari firm produced many of the oldest photographs of Italy. Sophie Barling visits its vast archive in Florence

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‘These days it’s rare to see a large exhibition of Dutch 17th-century paintings that isn’t focused on a marquee name.’ Noah Margulis salutes an exhibition that uses Gabriel Metsu, Gerrit Dou and others to help us imagine life in New York 400 years ago.

Can the Dutch masters help us imagine New Amsterdam?

The New York Historical tries to picture everyday life in Dutch-owned New York, with varying degrees of success, writes Noah Margulis

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The Glasgow School of Art says that it can’t afford to rebuild the Mackintosh building after two disastrous fires. It’s time for the restoration to be taken out of its hands, writes Douglas Murphy.

Glasgow will be humiliated if the Mack is not rebuilt

The Glasgow School of Art says it can’t afford to rebuild the Mackintosh building after two disastrous fires. It’s time for the restoration to be taken out of its hands, writes Douglas Murphy

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