A suite of paintings by Italian Baroque master Guercino at England’s Waddesdon Manor seems to herald the coming of Christ and a modern future.
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Michael Glover
Michael Glover is a Sheffield-born, Cambridge-educated, London-based poet and art critic, and poetry editor of The Tablet. He has written regularly for the Independent, the Times, the Financial Times, the New Statesman and the Economist. He has also been a London correspondent for ARTNews, New York. His latest books are: Late Days (2018), Hypothetical May Morning (2018), Neo Rauch (2019), The Book of Extremities (2019), What You Do With Days (2019) and John Ruskin: a dictionary (2019).
The Secret Universe of William Blake’s Art
William Blake’s Universe feels a little hugger-mugger, as if part of its job is to offer up its secrets to like-minded enthusiasts.
When Shakespeare Lured Soldiers to Battle
Beloved by kings and generals, Shakespeare’s lines have always found their way into powerful hands — and been employed to violent ends.
Was John Singer Sargent an Insufferable Snob?
Sargent’s sitters were all rich enough to employ him — the nouveau riches or (less often) the aristocratic, though it hardly matters.
Frank Auerbach Wrests Light From the Darkness
We can almost breathe the atmosphere of the sad London of the 1950s in Auerbach’s suite of charcoal portraits from the 1950s and 1960s.
Of Chairs and Pomeranians
What do Vincent van Gogh, Barbara Kruger, Prince Albert, and fluffy dogs have in common?
When Museums Become Instagram Bait
Many of the works in When Forms Come Alive are irredeemably superficial, as colorfully lightweight as they come.
The Resounding Talents of a Quiet Renaissance Master
Perhaps Pesellino lacked a certain ferocity of ambition — those who choose not to shout from the rooftops often fail to get heard.
Leon Kossoff’s Battles
Art can be, and often is, a species of combat, a fight to the death.
How the Impressionists Captured Life on Paper
While painting on canvas often slows life right down, paper works were frequently the stuff of sketchbooks, not necessarily labored over in some studio.
Is Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall a Good Place to Show Art?
From Louise Bourgeois in 2000 to El Anatsui in 2023, countless artists have wrestled with the London exhibition space’s (im)possibilities.
Marina Abramović, a Shaman of Late Capitalism
Is the Royal Academy’s Marina Abramović retrospective spirituality or its monetization? You toss the coin.