What great paintings say

Anthony Lawrence, a New Forest artist, painted everything from Dante’s Inferno to portraits of Ian McKellen and Yehudi Menuhin. This October, Palais des Vaches presents the first major retrospective o

Does a newly found Nicholas Hilliard miniature portray Shakespeare’s patron the Earl of Southampton?

IT was a fine, windy day in September, and Rosalind Aston had an odd feeling that she was in love. The emotion was new, and she could not be sure, but she luxuriated in it as she walked towards the ha

Exhibition of the week Between Sleeping and Waking ...

With a strength of character that belied her fragile looks, Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun pushed the boundaries of royal portraiture and, after the French Revolution, challenged the loss of female influence via every frill and fold in her work

This autumn, the V&A unveils a captivating exhibition dedicated to Marie Antoinette, the ill-fated French queen whose brief yet eventful life continues to bewitch audiences and fuel the creative imagination. Marie-Claire Chappet traces her enduring influence on culture and fashion