Books

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The archaic torso lesson

Rainer Maria Rilke’s apprenticeship under Auguste Rodin

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Small but perfectly formed

A complete historical catalogue of the Wallace Collection’s Italian sculptures

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Long may he continue: on John Berger at 90

Writings, new and old, by the nonagenarian, Marxist and self-confessed “stop-gap” storyteller

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Poop and pray: on domestic devotion in ancient Greece and Rome

New discoveries are changing how we understand ancient domesticity

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'Art too is just a way of living': on Rachel Corbett's You Must Change Your Life

A splendid new book examines what the poet Rainer Maria Rilke learned from Auguste Rodin

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Porcelain’s poor relation

Chinese painted enamels on copper are now valued in their own right

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Kissin’ and collectin’ cousins

How one branch of a German noble family married into every European royal family and acquired spectacular works of art

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‘We’re a part of American art too’: Black artists speak on their roles in art history

A new book surveys four generations of abstract art in the Joyner/Giuffrida Collection

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What did Rembrandt think he was doing?

Exploring the artist's treatment of movement

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Grand melancholy and class: on Anthony van Dyck

The artist’s soulful portraits conferred high status on his sitters—and on subsequent owners

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How Jewish identity shaped artistic patronage in turn-of-the-century Vienna

A new book offers a study of Jewish patrons in fin de siècle Vienna

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Not a step wrong: on Pompeo Batoni

A revised catalogue of the artist's work brings his achievements into view

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The bishop’s wine bath—with servants for show

A new book explores the social history of these homes

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The Roman conquest of the past

Essays on the appropriation of cultural memory, identity and power

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Personal and quirky: an account of J. M. W. Turner

This volume falls short of the “definitive” one that was intended

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Pierre Bonnard: easily misrepresented

Few books adequately explain Bonnard’s intentions and achievements. A new one is no exception

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The vicissitudes of Caravaggio: how the National Gallery capitalised on—and missed—opportunities to acquire works by the master

Although critics such as John Ruskin and Roger Fry rejected his work, collectors came around to Caravaggio's style

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Despair, pleasure and pride: on the diaries of Eva Hesse

Her private writings are moving but share few of her ideas about art

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Titian’s secret revealed

He was simply better than anyone else

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The artist who was tied to the sun

The work of the French court sculptor François Girardon is synonymous with the reign of Louis XIV

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That perpetually penniless savant: on Richard Bellamy and Eye of the Sixties

A biography of the art dealer is an exemplary work of journalism and research

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Vasari: the artist who overshadowed himself

He is famous for his Lives, but his drawings deserve attention, too

High-profile patron Tiqui Atencio turns the spotlight on her fellow collectors with new book

Publication includes interviews with almost 100 art-world figures such as Maja Hoffmann and Damien Hirst<br> <br>

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How bright the sunlight: on Lee Friedlander and the Western landscape

Richard Benson reflects on his travels with the photographer

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Always the same eyes: on Robert Mapplethorpe

The artist combined provocative sex and pristine classicism in his photographs, but no one followed his lead

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Looking in the dark: on artificial darkness in art and theatre

A new book by Noam Elcott unearths the role of mediated darkness in cultural history