Spirits of place

OVER THE LAST 40 YEARS, ELLE HAS CELEBRATED CREATIVITY OF ALL KINDS. HERE, A RANGE OF TODAY’S LEADING ARTISTS, WRITERS, PHOTOGRAPHERS AND DIRECTORS SHARE THE RITUALS, ROUTINES AND REALITIES BEHIND THEIR GREATEST WORKS, FROM MIND-BLOWING EXCEL SHEETS TO THE MAGIC OF THE DARK ROOM

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

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

There’s nothing expected or dull about this Parisian apartment, whose design takes risks by mixing references with studied panache

Artsy’s editor-in-chief and director of content Casey Lesser on the French artist who finds poetry in the everyday

Avoiding the curse of the figurative