Religious art

Newly reopened Orsanmichele in Florence smashes visitor records in first few weeks

The church, which has undergone an extensive renovation, welcomed more than six months’ worth of visitors in the first three weeks after the work was completed

‘Effeminate’ image of Jesus sparks culture war in Spain

Image of semi-naked Christ by Salustiano García prompts petition while LGBTQ groups defend the work

V&A and the Met in tug-of-war over £2m medieval ivory

The 12th-century walrus ivory sculpture represents “one of the most culturally and aesthetically significant objects” the UK government’s reviewing committee has handled in the past five years

Siena's spectacular cathedral floor has been temporarily uncovered

Visitors to the Italian city have a rare chance to glimpse the inlaid marble floor, begun in the 14th century

Booksreview

Photographer documents thousands of churches 'in a manner only angels and spiders could achieve'

Remarkable photographs of thousands of church interiors in rural England and Wales have been brought together in this landmark publication

Syrian painter Sara Shamma creates image of one of England's greatest—and most controversial—saints

No depictions exist of St Wilfrid of York, who was a well-travelled, pugnacious and ambitious young man and founder of the seventh-century Ripon Cathedral

King Charles III faces pressure to return sacred tabot—which symbolically represents the Ark of the Covenant—to Ethiopia

Westminster Abbey, which is directly under the monarch’s jurisdiction, currently refuses to return the holy tablet

Ukrainian churches and places of worship devastated by war

As Russia's war continues, conservation is proving impossible—but heritage groups, priests and volunteers are doing their best to document the destruction

Ethiopia's oldest icon may be the work of an Italian master

An artist from Siena could have travelled to Africa in the 14th century to create triptych, which is in a remote monastery in northern Ethiopia

Booksreview

Saints and stories: vast book reveals the history of the Renaissance altarpiece

This in-depth survey suggests that the development of Italian church altarpieces can be understood through the themes of "icon" and "narrative"

Booksreview

Magnificence of mosques and their contents revealed in book created by 'dream team' of Saudi and Egyptian museums

Exploration of the Islamic building through its decorations and objects fills a gap in the field

Off with her head! Infrared technology shows how a 15th-century French king used a paintbrush to replace one wife with another

Francis I of Brittany had his first wife painted over in a medieval prayer book before giving it to his new spouse, research at Cambridge's Fitzwilliam Museum shows

'Hurrah, it’s leprosy!' How a conservator and a historian are decoding the grisly tales in Canterbury Cathedral’s stained-glass windows

New research for British Museum exhibition means panels depicting St Thomas Becket's healing miracles will be correctly reassembled after centuries in the wrong order

Local researchers work to uncover story behind mysterious mural in English church

Residents of a Surrey village are piecing together the history of the colourful and detailed paintings done by a local woman more than 100 years ago

Bavarian frescoes are confirmed to be among the oldest in northern Europe

New examinations of John the Baptist wall paintings in Augsburg cathedral date them to more than 1,000 years ago

As Italy’s museums reopen, visitors flock for last chance to see reunited Bologna masterpiece broken up 300 years ago

Last week of once in a lifetime exhibition displaying the Griffoni Polyptych—a 16-piece panel painting dating from 1472—at Bologna’s Palazzo Fava

Is this ‘enormously powerful’ painting of Jesus Christ by El Greco? Spanish expert questions new attribution

Art history scholars disagree over possible discovery of work by Renaissance master, which is owned by private collector

Booksreview

Master of the putti: instructive book explores Albrecht Dürer's obsession with the little cherubs

Survey including 91 illustrations shows how the artist used the winged gods prolifically in his work

Artist designs Dias de los Muertos altar in Brooklyn for those who died during the pandemic

New Yorkers are invited to leave a remembrance of loved ones at Scherezade Garcia’s ofrenda at Green-Wood Cemetery

Why we should be concerned about President Erdogan turning museums into mosques

Hagia Sophia and the Chora Church will remain “open to all”, Turkish government promises—but restricted access may not be the primary worry

Vandals smash statue of Mary Magdalene in French chapel—apparently because she is naked

A note was left at the scene by the perpetrators saying they “did not accept” that the saint should be “represented in such a way”

Send the religious art in museums back to the churches, says the director of the Uffizi gallery

Eike Schmidt says up to a thousand works are languishing in state-run stores all over Italy

The art world's favourite Easter and Passover images

We asked artists, museum directors, art historians and public figures who love art to pick the images that mean something to them at this time

Pope Francis, his crucifix and the Virgin Mary: miraculous or merely traditional?

Art history removes the numinous from art. At the Vatican’s Covid-19 blessing we saw it invoked again

Medieval books’ margins are shown to be areas of dissent and fun, rather than mere doodling

The extra-textual decoration of medieval illuminated manuscripts are full of clues about sections of society normally overlooked by historians

Booksreview

How to try to understand Jusepe de Ribera's many scenes of violence

The Spanish artist’s extraordinary paintings of tortured bodies and tormented souls

Hundreds of Christians protest against McJesus sculpture at Haifa Museum of Art in Israel

Finnish artist Jani Leinonen has asked museum to remove the work—with no response

Giovanni da Rimini's images of religious splendour shine in the National Gallery

A Renaissance masterpiece is unveiled, but its mystery remains unsolved