Titian's answer to the Sistine Chapel and Lucas Cranach's kinky German nudes – the week in art
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Version 0 of 1. Titian’s Ovid paintings are brought together for the first time in 300 years, Lucas Cranach the Elder displays a Helmut Newton quality and Cecil Beaton shows a surreal side – all in your weekly dispatch Exhibition of the week Titian: Love, Desire, Death The cycle of paintings assembled here for the first time in more than 300 years constitute one of the peaks of European art: nothing less than Titian’s answer to the Sistine Chapel. • National Gallery, London, from 16 March to 14 June. Also showing Edmund de Waal The potter and author pays homage to exiled writers from Dante to Judith Kerr. British Museum, London, until 8 September. Rineke Dijkstra A video homage to Rembrandt’s Night Watch by the modern Dutch artist who shares his eye for human fragility. Marian Goodman Gallery, London, until 25 April. Lucas Cranach the Elder Kinky German nudes that have a Helmut Newton quality but were painted in the 16th century. Compton Verney, Warwickshire, until 14 June. Cecil Beaton The early work of the renowned style photographer with a slightly surreal eye. National Portrait Gallery, London, until 7 June. Image of the week British artist Maggi Hambling’s new portrait of tennis star Andy Murray is to go on display at the National Portrait Gallery. To this day, the pair disagree on how long she made him pose in his Wimbledon whites, while pretending to serve and return with his forehand and backhand. “It was actually a very short time,” Hambling insisted. Murray recalled it slightly differently: “Posing in these positions … felt like quite a long time for me. I was there for three to four hours in total, we did have breaks. It was difficult, it was a physical morning.” Read the full story here. What we learned What’s it like to spend a week living as Warhol, whose grip on pop culture extends from the Muppets to Trump Jiri Kralovec’s drone-lit portraits of athletes are mesmeric A new show offers an artistic tour of Cumbria’s west coast Three millennia of art shows the impact of climate crisis on Indigenous Americans Canberra’s Skywhale has returned to home await her papa Phenomenal Women is honouring Britain’s black female professors Sheena Liam’s threaded portraits are hair-raising and unique Female photographers fled Nazi Europe and brought a fresh eye to UK life Stone is responsible for some of the planet’s most stunning buildings A mum’s photobook snoops in on the tricky journey of adolescence An Essex swimming pool has turned JG Ballard’s Drowned World into a performance Huge naval figureheads will be exhibited in the UK Hobart’s Dark Mofo festival has been cancelled Allen Wheatcroft’s lens captures people living their lives in the street A new mall in Groningen is trying to survive without selling Emma Talbot has won the Max Mara art prize Fourth plinth artist Heather Phillipson is engrossed by disgust Cecil Beaton’s Bright Young Things turns a blind eye to the dark side Upcycled art exposes Australia’s fraught relationship with waste Metallica out on the ‘ego ramp’ is Ross Halfin’s best photograph Denelle and Tom Ellis recreated the 70s photo album to examine coupledom today Masterpiece of the Week The Gayer-Anderson Cat – Ancient Egyptian late period (7th-4th centuries BC) This placid yet silently authoritative creature was cast in bronze towards the end of ancient Egypt’s 3,000-year-plus history as a kingdom and civilisation. The unknown artist who made it was heir to a stupendous artistic tradition able to mix the most observant realism with a profound sense of supernatural power. This sculpture is a perfect example of that sublime synthesis. It’s completely a cat – life-like and life-size. Yet it exudes mystery and magic. Egypt had a cat-headed goddess called Bastet, and held cats sacred. Mummified cats testify to their preciousness as pets and totems. All that belief and passion fills this bronze beast with a marvellous intensity. • British Museum, London Don’t forget To follow us on Twitter: @GdnArtandDesign. Sign up to the Art Weekly newsletter If you don’t already receive our regular roundup of art and design news via email, please sign up here. |