A brush with greatness

The piece I’d never part with

From Raphael and the mysterious Fornarina to Jan Steen with his flirtatious Margriet and Suzanne Valadon, who broke many hearts until she lost hers to a much younger man, Nick Trend explores five romances that made art history

The Rothschild name is famous throughout Europe: a family renowned for banking, vast fortunes, sumptuous houses and philanthropic acts. Recently, Britain lost Rothschild legend, Jacob, 4th Baron Roths

Clutter-free grandeur How the artist changed her untidy ways to create a stately studio workspace

Estimate £15,000-£20,000 Sold £32,000+BP An evocative, delicate watercolour, The North Wind, came from the brush of free spirit Emily Brontë, author of Wuthering Heights and one-third of the world-fam

A cut-crystal bed, with associated mirrors and throne, sparkled at auction earlier this month, but no glamour could beat the prize that was the Union Flag flown by HMS Spartiate at the Battle of Trafalgar