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The Week in Art
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Pope Francis and art, J.M.W. Turner’s 250th birthday, John Singer Sargent’s ‘Madame X’—podcast

Exploring the late pontiff’s deep connection to and impact on visual culture, plus why Turner’s work continues to resonate so strongly today, and the story of Sargent’s most famous painting

Hosted by Ben Luke. Produced by David Clack, Julia Michalska and Alexander Morrison
25 April 2025
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Pope Francis has a particular interest in Caravaggio, and opened a contemporary art gallery in Vatican Apostolic Library

Photo: Ashwin Vaswani (Unsplash)

Pope Francis has a particular interest in Caravaggio, and opened a contemporary art gallery in Vatican Apostolic Library

Photo: Ashwin Vaswani (Unsplash)

The Week in Art

From breaking news and insider insights to exhibitions and events around the world, the team at The Art Newspaper picks apart the art world’s big stories with the help of special guests. An award-winning podcast hosted by Ben Luke.

Following the death of Pope Francis on Easter Monday, The Art Newspaper’s managing editor, Louis Jebb, who has written an extensive obituary of the late pontiff, joins Ben Luke to talk about the late pope’s engagement with art and with the Vatican art collections.

Wednesday 23 April was the 250th anniversary of the birth of JMW Turner, one of the greatest British artists. A host of exhibitions and events are marking this moment, and we speak to Amy Concannon, the senior curator of historic British art at Tate Britain, about Turner’s enduring appeal.

JMW Turner, Norham Castle, Sunrise (around 1845), on display in the Clore Gallery at Tate Britain

Photo: Courtesy of Tate

And this episode’s Work of the Week is arguably John Singer Sargent’s most famous—and in its time, his most infamous—painting, Madame X (1883-84). A portrait of Virginie Amélie Avegno Gautreau, it features in a major show of Sargent’s work that opens this week at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, before travelling later in the year to the Musée d’Orsay in Paris.

John Singer Sargent, Madame X (Madame Pierre Gautreau), (1883–84)

Courtesy of The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Our associate digital editor, Alexander Morrison, discusses the picture with Stephanie L. Herdrich, a co-curator of the exhibition.

  • You can explore the Turner Bequest here—the full collection will be online later this year. Cataloguing Turner’s Bequest: Sketchbooks, Drawings, Watercolours, Tate Britain, London, ongoing
  • Full list of the Turner 250 events: tate.org.uk/art/turner-250
  • Sargent and Paris, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York: 21 April-3 August; Sargent: The Paris Years, Musée d’Orsay, Paris, 22 September-11 January 2026.
The Week in ArtPope FrancisVatican MuseumsJ.M.W. TurnerJohn Singer SargentMetropolitan Museum of Art
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