ReviewBooks
Revamped art book prize wants to become the Oscars of arts publications—is it succeeding?
A year on from its announcement, we look at whether the Richard Schlagman Art Book Awards is meeting its ambitions
ReviewBooks
Book on Bellini proves more philosophical than art historical
Scholarly analysis of 15th-century Venetian painter aims to bring his work into the 21st century
ReviewBooks
Born of hate and contempt, how the Bargello's extraordinary collection of medieval ivories came to be
Book tells the tale of how Italian museum amassed such a vast array of important sculptures thanks to Frenchman Louis-Claude Carrand
ReviewBooks
Redefining Botticelli—from Post-Modernism to soft porn
Does putting the Renaissance artist's work in a modern context enhance or diminish his art?
ReviewBooks
A neuroscientist's view: how Bacon's paintings shake up the nervous system
Publication focuses on what neuroscience and psychology bring to the table with the late artist's works
ReviewBooks
This was the most prolific year for Leonardo scholarship in history—here is a detailed guide to the best books
At least 250 volumes in European languages have been published in 2019, the year that saw the world commemorate 500 years since Leonardo da Vinci's death
Latest in Book Shorts
This little book will help the Scottish Colourists to inch their way a bit further south of the border
Gerald Scarfe tells the story of his life and work in this new book
A colourful record of private enterprise restoration is encapsulated in this book
A book of art history brain teasers that will help you to while away your leisure hours
The ways in which illustrators fostered scientific discoveries are highlighted by this book
ReviewThe Year in Review 2019
From the history of the festive putti to Arthur Jafa's hefty tome: the art world's favourite books of 2019
Regular contributors, scholars, curators and critics choose their favourite reads from the past year
ReviewExhibition catalogues
Vienna museum's Caravaggio and Bernini catalogue presents the artist's studio as a theatrical site
Exhibition at Kunsthistorisches on the two Baroque heavyweights helps to clarify the relationship between Roman painting and sculpture of the period
NewsBooks
Missing Leonardo link: writer discovers that Da Vinci's anatomy drawings were owned by Charles II
New book hopes research of papers belonging to the king's physician will lead to further "eureka" moments
ReviewBooks
Demanding artists and receptive architects in book about design and function of the studio
This book shows how, from the end of the 19th century to the Second World War, artists collaborated with architects to craft an image of themselves
ReviewBooks
‘If I don’t like your pictures, I can destroy everything': a photographer's intimate—but risky—shoots with Louise Bourgeois
In his new book the photographer Jean-François Jaussaud details how he gained the trust of the late French artist
BlogAdventures with Van Gogh
Methodical, well read and—above all—human: what we learn from the myth-busting edition of Van Gogh’s letters
A decade after the publication of Vincent's trove of correspondence, here is how the remarkable project has contributed to scholarship on his art
NewsAcquisitions
New York's Morgan Library receives ‘transformational’ trove of manuscripts and bindings
Bequest comes from New York collector Jayne Wrightsman, who amassed an 18th-century library to complement her celebrated French furnishings
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
New book on Leonardo’s Salvator Mundi aims to be a definitive study—but it's not the last word on the controversial painting
Ahead of the blockbuster at the Musée du Louvre, we get an exclusive first read of the publication written by Martin Kemp, Robert Simon and Margaret Dalivalle
ReviewBooks
Titan of Turin: Italy's greatest interior decorator receives definitive scholarly book
Bertrand de Royere provides a thorough examination of the life the 19th century decorator and furniture designer Pelagio Palagi
ReviewBooks
Back to scuola: book series provides accessible introduction to Italian and Northern Renaissance art
The five volumes offer a range of perspectives and chronological breadth for budding scholars of the field
NewsPolitics
'We want the Babylonian Palace of Tiglath-Pileser!': new book reveals Boris Johnson's thwarted vision for new V&A East
Nicholas Coleridge, the chairman of the Victoria and Albert Museum, tells how Boris laid down the law on his plans for the project
ReviewBooks
National Gallery definitively catalogues 'small but perfectly formed' collection of French 18th century paintings
Humphrey Wine’s lavishly illustrated book details the London museum's 60 authentic works and 12 replicas, copies or pastiches
ReviewBooks
'The guardian of Vincent’s legacy': new biography details devoted life of Van Gogh's sister-in-law Jo Bonger
Bonger's encounter with Trotsky and her tireless effort to preserve the artist's work are explored in the new book by Hans Luijten
ReviewMedieval art
Glam rock: alabaster was not medieval England's 'poor man's marble' new book finds
Used in high status projects and throughout the continent, Kim Woods's detailed study challenges misconceptions of the carving rock's status
ReviewBooks
A clever book for clever people: Marina Warner's sensitive artist essays dimmed by too many words
The brilliance of the scholar's examination of artists such as Paula Rego and Sigmar Polke is evident despite name dropping and verbose language
ReviewBooks
The scientific brotherhood: Pre-Raphaelite art put under the microscope
The Victorian artist group explored the connections between art and scientific observation to enhance art’s moral purpose
ReviewBooks
New catalogue presents virtuosity of Neo-Classicist goldsmith Luigi Valadier
Alvar González-Palacios’s book on the Italian decorator is a peak in his distinguished career
ReviewBooks
Fit for a king: book lays out the vast scale of the Orléans collection
The second Duke of Orléans’ assembly of his famous art collection may have been a covert preparation for seizing the throne of France
ReviewBooks
The Arts and Crafts special relationship: how the British movement permeated US design culture
Companion book to an exhibition at the University of Texas at Austin offers new dimensions on the vast subject
ReviewBook Shorts
This book gives a first-hand account of Second World War art and propaganda
A vivid account of the art arising from the experiences of the artist, George Plante
ReviewBooks
How Rheims Cathedral's destruction in the First World War had a happy ending
New book explores how the burnt cathedral created a 'profound intellectual rift' between Germany and France, then reconciliation
ReviewBooks
Agents of faith: the art of votive offerings
Bard Graduate Center's 25th anniversary exhibition considers devotional offerings across religions
ReviewBooks
Michelangelo for beginners, and a new view of the master’s bronzes
Three new books offer fresh angles on the Renaissance master
FeatureBooks
Book excerpt: William Kentridge reveals how Antoine Bourdelle inspired his work
In Jori Finkel's book It Speaks to Me, Kentridge discusses the sculpture in Johannesburg that first made him feel the power of art
ReviewBooks
What was the real purpose of the English country house library?
Mark Purcell's study explores 19th-century bibliomania and rejects the notion that books in historic libraries were "bought by the yard"
ReviewBooks
Coming out of one’s shell: new book explores overlooked mollusc art by naturalist's daughters
Martin Lister enlisted his daughters Susanna and Anna because of the unreliability of the best professional engravers
ReviewBooks
William Hunter and the enlightened art of science
A new publication brings together the Scottish surgeon's art collection for the first time in many years
ReviewJan Weenix
A family affair: three generations of Weenix showcased in two-volume magnum opus
The new book features newly discovered appendices, including the profligate Jan Baptist’s three-volume bankruptcy file
ReviewBooks
Book review | Recent archaeological finds on Keros bring new authoritative scholarship on Cycladic art
Excavation campaigns on the Greek island have raised questions about our knowledge of Cycladic art and culture
NewsFrieze New York 2019
Amassing a Frieze Library, book by book
Galleries donate publications for a collection that will go to the Metropolitan Museum
NewsLeonardo da Vinci
London's National Gallery defends inclusion of Salvator Mundi in Leonardo show after criticism in new book
The curator’s attribution to the Renaissance master helped Christie’s achieve a world record price for the painting
ReviewBooks
Bruegel: great research, great exhibition—shame about the catalogue
The Kunsthistorisches's Bruegel exhibition catalogue fails to include any scholarly information
Podcast
David Bailey in focus, plus Picasso biographer John Richardson remembered
We meet the photographer David Bailey at his London studio to discuss his new book and we talk with Gijs van Hensbergen about John Richardson, who died aged 95 last week. Produced in association with Bonhams, auctioneers since 1793.
ReviewRenaissance
#Menudetoo: naked bodies in the Renaissance explored at the Royal Academy of Arts and in three new publications
Examining the many meanings—and inanities—ascribed to the unclothed human body in Western art
NewsPhotography
Novelist Orhan Pamuk unveils photographs of Istanbul he took from his balcony
On show in Turkey this month, the images are an ode to the Nobel Prize-winning author’s hometown
ReviewJasper Johns
Complex, ingenious, emotional: the concluding volumes of Jasper Johns’s catalogues raisonnés
Two further volumes comprehensively cover the artist's drawings and monotypes
ReviewBooks
Clement Greenberg: still waiting for sympathetic treatment
On the 110th birthday of the great American critic, we delve into our archive and discover that writings about him are either too academic or too sensationalist
ReviewBooks
Close study of fashions in medieval manuscripts is key to understanding interactions of literature and dress
Book of illuminations show various fashions that shed light on literary styles
FeaturePhotography
Edward Woodman: the light and space of a golden era
UK retrospective freeze-frames often ephemeral works from the 1980s and 1990s
NewsMichelangelo
Rothschild Bronzes definitely by Michelangelo, new book claims
Pair of nude males, acquired by the family in 1877, last sold at auction in 2002
PreviewBooks
A love letter to a grittier, punk-accented New York
Chris Stein, Blondie co-founder, presents a book of photographs from the 1970s and 80s
PreviewBooks
Witches, cannibals and murderers: the stories behind some of the Musée d’Orsay’s most violent works of art
In his new book The Orsay Murder Club, the art historian Christos Markogiannakis examines the horrors of the Paris museum’s collection
ReviewBooks
A monumental study of the heyday of Historicist painting
This comprehensive volume looks at a genre popular in 19th-century Europe but long scorned in the art world
Podcast
Gainsborough murder mystery. Plus, RoseLee Goldberg on performance art
We travel back to the 18th century and delve into the grisly family murders that helped Gainsborough gain fame. Plus, RoseLee Goldberg tell us all about her new book Performance Now: Live Art for the 21st century. Produced in association with Bonhams, auctioneers since 1793.
ReviewBooks
Jackson Pollock's art gets lost in academic theory in new book
This scholarly overview of the artist’s work is modishly opaque
ReviewBooks
Reputations redeemed by art: two books examine what made Charles I and II great collectors but bad rulers
Despite the failings of the Stuart kings, their art collections stand in their favour, as exhibitions in the UK this year have shown
ReviewBooks
Chicago’s art history, revised
An essay collection illuminates a rich and, ultimately, countercultural legacy
ReviewBooks
Otto Marseus van Schrieck: introducing the inventor of the 'forest-floor' still-life
This splendid book uncovers the Dutch painter who brought the lowliest creatures of the forest ecosystem to life
ReviewBooks
Prefab(ulous): the story of an 18th-century chapel made entirely in Rome for a church in Lisbon
This fascinating survey offers both detailed commentary and lavish illustrations
ReviewBooks
Telling us why and how: a groundbreaking study of Veronese’s techniques and paintings
These two books—very different in approach—analyse the process and works of the Italian Renaissance painter
ReviewBooks
Henry I of Haiti: the little-known story of a king and his amazing building spree
A short but fascinating book about a man immortalised through architecture
ReviewBooks
The tortuous story of Gustav Klimt’s Nazi-looted, 100ft-wide Beethoven Frieze uncovered
New book exploring work's provenance is a must-read for those interested in the contentious field of art restitution
ReviewBooks
Potty about pictures: ancient Athenian vases are an important historical resource—but this book fails to deliver
Large gaps in the material and a lack of thorough explanation make this volume less useful than it could be
NewsArtists
Jasper Johns show and catalogue raisonné open Menil Collection’s new Drawing Institute
The 88-year-old artist, who gets the institute’s inaugural show, was deeply involved in the drawings catalogue project
ReviewBooks
Very much an acquired taste: how did so many Italian baroque paintings end up in US museums?
Book provides a sampling of personalities, acquisition strategies and collections that many Europeans may not know
ReviewBooks
Picture perfect: a 'sumptuous' book on Pre-Raphaelite stained glass
While its terminology is unsteady, the scholarship and production values of this sequel volume are exceptional
ReviewBooks
How to force historians to use their eyes: book urges academics to 'take art more seriously'
Princeton University's Theodore K. Rabb says more visual materials—not only written records—should be explored
ReviewBooks
Many pictures but no big picture: book struggles to capture the extraordinary life of Harald Szeemann
Volume on pioneering curator takes an admiring, rather than a critically analytical, approach
ReviewBooks
Pull up a pew: vast volume surveys church cabinetmaking in 17th- and 18th-century Austria
Illuminating historical overviews and a mass of documentary research covers an under-studied subject
ReviewBooks
Thinking with pictures: how images were used for philosophical thinking in the Early Modern period
A rich and fascinating book on what can rightly be called the art of philosophy
ReviewBooks
A Käthe Kollwitz renaissance is under way (and about time, too)
A pair of publications shed new light on profoundly socially committed artist
BlogIn the frame
Baring all: undiscovered Kate Moss revealed in new Mario Sorrenti book
ReviewBooks
Before gardens had capabilities: book explores English landscaping in the 17th and early 18th centuries
After “Capability” Brown’s tercentenary in 2016, this volume looks at the places the landscape architect is often accused of destroying
ReviewBooks
Cottaging—an acquired taste? New book looks at England’s once-popular Cottage Orné style
An enlightening survey on the story of English architecture and the quintessential country house
CommentCaravaggio
Discovery in a Toulouse attic is no Caravaggio
There are too many oddities in the painting discovered in France five years ago
Jonathan Jones