Instant Expert
Making music is an embodied activity, something made by human bodies – and in the history of art we see humans making music again and again. Such lyrical works can come with complex meanings. Our expert, Dr Matt Wates, reveals some prime examples
Australian Aboriginal art is one of the most fascinating art forms in history. Rebecca Hossack, expert in this field, reveals the key things you need to know about the medium
When did the earliest lifelike teardrop appear in a painting? Or the original kiss, or butterfly? For the first month of the year, we ask John-Paul Stonard to reveal his five ‘firsts’ in the history of art
Artists have always had a fascination for scenes of food and feasting. As the holiday season of gatherings is here, our expert, Nicole Mezey, invites you to feast your eyes on some of the best – and most bizarre – examples of artworks that celebrate dining
Theatre is ‘the greatest of all art forms, the most immediate way in which a human being can share with another the sense of what it is to be a human being’, said Oscar Wilde. Our expert, Simon Whitehouse, reveals the impact the dramatist, writer and wit had on London’s West End
Known across the globe for her electrifying, moving, often dangerous performances, Marina Abramović is one of the most outstanding artists of her generation. As a new exhibition of her works has just opened at the Royal Academy, London, our expert, Helen Oakden, reveals key things to know about this art world icon and her medium
There’s a popular assumption that the artist Peter Paul Rubens only painted one type of woman: the voluptuous ‘Rubenesque’. A new exhibition at Dulwich Picture Gallery is the first to challenge that thinking. Its co-curator, Arts Society Lecturer Amy Orrock, reveals the story
Whether visiting gardens or sitting within your own, many of the beautiful plants you’ll see represent nature’s medicine box. Their properties are harnessed to create medicines as far-ranging as analgesics and antibiotics. Our expert, Timothy Walker, reveals why plants as diverse as the foxglove and rosy periwinkle can, for many, prove to be a life-saver
We associate pyramids with all things Egyptian, Mesopotamian or Mayan, but think again says David Winpenny. Follow his trail this summer and discover the cone-shaped curiosities that lie closer to home