Review

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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

Loosely hanging appendages: on Rachel Harrison's Perth Amboy at MoMA

The artist believes that meaning accumulates with the amount of things thrown carelessly into a room

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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

Looking up from the couch: on Mark Wallinger's show at the Freud Museum in London

The artist makes subtle changes to Freud’s study that speak to larger issues

The private pleasures of kings: on nudes from the Prado at the Clark Art Institute

The Spanish Catholic Church tried to curb images of nudity, but artists and patrons did not always oblige

Worth the detour: on the Andrew Lambirth collection

A show of the critic's collection amount to a self-portrait of his taste

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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

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After Caravaggio: Michael Fried on the painter's enormous influence

The art historian examines the long legacy of the Baroque painter

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Undermined by silence: lack of provenance is devastating flaw of al-Sabah collection catalogue

Scholarly assessment is greatly hampered by the lack of detail on where and how the objects were acquired

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All together now: on the Francis Bacon catalogue raisonné

The complete collection of Francis Bacon’s paintings is published—at last

Louder than words: on the Language of Things at City Hall Park

The show offers all visitors a chance to consider some serious ideas

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From marriage bed to painted pottery: on Geothe's collection

The writer seriously collected maiolica—and enjoyed its light relief and eroticism

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Polyvalent plates

The multipurpose imagery of 16th-century Italian maiolica

A bridge between New York and Paris: on Stuart Davis at the Whitney Museum

The artist's power came from his ability to navigate between American realism and European Modernism

Dis-affecting: Mostafa Heddaya on the Ninth Berlin Biennale

The show’s curators give false prominence to simple provocations

The seriousness of a child at play: Kenneth Baker on Joel Shapiro at the Nasher Sculpture Center

Shapiro says he only wants to 'stick stuff in space,' which belies the many important questions his work raises

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The sedulous Stanleys: power at Knowsley Hall

The cultural intersection of power, patronage and politics

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Very sharp, but not long enough

This account of Islamic arms and armour is superb, but a complete catalogue would have been better

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Atmosphere, thought and feeling: on Giorgione and his contemporaries

The mastery of his art and that of his Venetian contemporaries

The gospel according to Bruce Conner: on the artist's show at Paula Cooper Gallery

Biblical upheaval is at the heart of a group of tapestries by the artist

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A monument to the living and the dead: on the Queen's arms and armour

Long in the making, the catalogue of her collection has been worth the wait

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Tate Modern: a museum for our times

In emphasising architecture and spectacle, jettisoning chronology, pursuing diverse audiences and attracting private money, Tate Modern is the quintessential contemporary museum

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Loose language: on Liam Gillick's Industry and Intelligence

The artist's new book is confused and lacking in rigour

Latin American artists triumph at South London Gallery

Gallery has partnered with New York’s Guggenheim on survey of the region

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A sickly flower of Decadent London: on the work of Aubrey Beardsley

The complete works of the illustrator, presented in all their “corrupting” glory

The Greeks in Egypt: on Sunken Cities at the British Museum

The exhibition explores the interactions between two great civilizations

Venice Biennale: the multiple fronts of architecture do not disappoint

High-impact installations communicate the process of architecture to non-specialists