17th century

DIY insulation and cow bones: Oxford college renovation reveals what life was like as a 17th-century student

The conservation of St John’s College has uncovered hidden paintings, underfloor fire escapes and an intriguing signature

What was the secret of 17th-century Dutch art? It began in Belgium

A new exhibition in Utrecht looks at the role of Antwerp in the development of painting in Holland

Booksreview

Huguenots and River Thames mudlarking: two books on global displacement remind us of the value in welcoming refugees

A lavish study on the art and culture of French Protestant refugees from the late 17th century, and an in-depth look at the hidden histories of the remarkable objects to be found in London’s River Thames

Booksreview

Spend, spend, spend: what lies behind the Stuarts’ taste for extravagant buildings and interiors

The turbulent period’s flashy architectural projects aimed to send out a powerful message, new book reveals

Booksreview

Book on Luisa Roldán shines new light on the 17th-century Spanish sculptor—but why does it lead on her marriage, not her masterpieces?

Volume is the debut instalment of a new series, Illuminating Women Artists, responding to the interest in those “who had nearly been lost to history”

The Big Review: Artemisia at the National Gallery in London

The artist’s first major UK exhibition uses dramatic spaces and biographical detail to bring her career into closer focus

This facsimile of a late 16th-century Italian manuscript on how to fence is a masterpiece of draughtsmanship

Camillo Palladini was a master swordsman whose work has been lost for centuries until this publication

Morgan Library explores how the Grand Siècle in Rome inspired the drawings of Poussin and Claude

The exhibition brings together more than 50 works created by French artists living abroad

Booksnews

The powerful presence of Rubens in every age

Theodore K. Rabb looks at the Flemish artist’s “legacy” over nearly four centuries

Interviewarchive

The most important collectors you’ve never heard of: The Van Otterloos

Next year their collection of Dutch and Flemish 17th-century paintings goes on display for the first time in Europe and the US. The couple gave us their first ever interview

Grinling Gibbons, a superstar rediscovered at the V&A

Fires at the Pitti Palace and Hampton Court have led to this survey of baroque sculptor, Grinling Gibbons

Booksarchive

Portrait miniatures, Little England

Three books demonstrate the revival of interest in portrait miniatures and the leading role of the Victoria and Albert Museum in this field