Why the world went ‘angelica mad’

The Critic Books

Isabella d’Este, Marchioness of Mantua, bargained, cajoled and went behind her family’s back to get what she desired. Meet 16th-century Italy’s most formidable collector

In July 1575, Robert Dudley enlisted mythological figures to convince Elizabeth I to wed him. Exactly 450 years later, artist Lindsey Mendick reveals how and why she reinterpreted their encounter in her installation for Kenilworth Castle

Exhibition of the week Jenny Saville: The Anatomy ...

“Hands of Saint Dominic” by Albrecht Dürer, 1506; ...

In her latest novel, Sarah Dunant explores the life of Italian aristocrat Isabella d’Este, the archetypal Renaissance woman