Art News. Vasari Codex

article culture schedule Apr 8, 2026 visibility 20 link 2 artists

A book exploring the evolution of J.M.W. Turner’s positions on slavery

Art historian Sam Smiles has released a comprehensive new book examining J.M.W. Turner’s complex relationship with the slave trade, expanding on his 2007 discovery of the artist's personal investment in a Jamaican cattle farm that utilized enslaved labor. The research traces Turner’s financial ties from his early patronage by wealthy plantation owners to his own speculative ventures, challenging the long-held perception of the artist as a straightforward abolitionist.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Dec 4, 2025 visibility 15 link 6 artists

hans holbein tudor legacy

A new biography by art historian Elizabeth Goldring, titled "Holbein: Renaissance Master," traces the journey of German painter Hans Holbein the Younger from his humble beginnings in Augsburg to becoming the official painter of King Henry VIII in Tudor England. The book, already released in the U.K. and hitting U.S. bookshops on January 6, examines how Holbein's portraits—including the iconic image of Henry VIII and rival courtiers Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell—defined the visual legacy of the Tudor dynasty. Goldring highlights Holbein's ability to confer power through paint, with his works still shaping global perceptions of the Tudors centuries later.

newspaper Artnet News open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule Apr 9, 2026 visibility 23 link 16 artists

Event: Hammad Nasar and Billy Tang, Off the Record

ArtReview and Ursula magazine have announced a collaborative talk featuring curators Hammad Nasar and Billy Tang as part of their "Off the Record" series in London. The event, held at the Farm Shop in Mayfair, is designed as an intimate, live conversation focused on the working methods and inspirations of creative visionaries. Nasar, a veteran curator and MBE recipient, will join Tang, the Artistic Director of the new Yan Du Project, to discuss their respective practices and the evolution of creative thinking.

newspaper ArtReview open_in_new Read original

museum exhibitions schedule May 6, 2025 visibility 18 link 2 artists, 1 gallery

Polar icebergs and North Devon cliffs meet with powerful new art exhibition at The Burton

Royal Academician Emma Stibbon opens a new exhibition, "Melting Ice | Rising Tides," at The Burton at Bideford on May 10. The show features monumental drawings and prints inspired by field trips to Svalbard and the Weddell Sea, alongside a five-metre-wide installation responding to erosion in Bideford Bay. It includes a film with contributions from Andy Bell, Caroline Lucas, and Dr. Dylan Rood, and a limited edition print, "Atlantic Edge" (2025), priced at £390 to support the gallery.

newspaper North Devon Gazette open_in_new Read original

rate_review review schedule Apr 22, 2026 visibility 28 link 7 artists

Hans Holbein Painted the Human

A new book, 'Holbein: Renaissance Master' by Elizabeth Goldring, published by Yale University Press and the Paul Mellon Centre, offers a comprehensive scholarly examination of the 16th-century German painter Hans Holbein the Younger. The review focuses on Holbein's masterful portraiture, particularly his depictions of opposing Tudor-era figures like Sir Thomas More and Thomas Cromwell, which are highlighted as embodying the era's complex political and religious tensions through their visual presentation at the Frick Collection in New York.

newspaper Hyperallergic open_in_new Read original

article culture schedule Aug 5, 2025 visibility 21 link 7 artists

Five new art books to look out for this autumn, including publications on US monuments and Vermeer close-ups

Five new art books are set for release this autumn, covering topics from US monuments and Vermeer's techniques to post-war British culture and contemporary Pakistani-American art. Titles include 'Closer to Vermeer' (Thames & Hudson), 'Monumental: How a New Generation of Artists Is Shaping the Memorial Landscape' (MIT Press), 'British Blonde' (Paul Mellon Centre), 'Art Is: A Journey into the Light' (Yale), and 'Shahzia Sikander' (Lund Humphries), each offering fresh scholarship or monographic depth.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

rate_review review schedule Jan 6, 2026 visibility 17 link 2 artists

Holbein biography interrogates the artist's life and work from a different angle

Elizabeth Goldring’s new biography of Hans Holbein the Younger takes a documentary-focused approach, prioritizing archival evidence over visual analysis. The book examines Holbein’s life (1497/8–1543) through chronological chapters, using inventories, correspondence, and other records to correct long-held assumptions and propose new theories about his work. Goldring’s detective work includes identifying the green curtain in Holbein’s portrait of Sir Thomas More as a reference to the sitter’s role as chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, and suggesting that a lost painting of the More family was given to Erasmus as a gift.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original

article news schedule May 20, 2025 visibility 26 link 10 artists

Chinese art collector to open non-profit in London devoted to contemporary Asian art

Chinese art collector and philanthropist Yan Du will open Yan Du Projects (YDP), a non-profit space dedicated to contemporary Asian and Asian diasporic art, in a Grade I-listed townhouse on Bedford Square, London, this October. The venue will host exhibitions, site-specific commissions, public events, and artist residencies, with an opening show by Chinese painter Duan Jianyu. Designed by Hong Kong-based Beau Architects, the space features a modular "suitcase project" interior that respects the building's listed status and reflects diasporic themes. YDP is distinct from Yan's earlier Asymmetry Art Foundation (founded 2019) and her private collection, aiming to promote under-represented Asian artists through flexible, artist-curated programming.

newspaper The Art Newspaper open_in_new Read original