Painting and sculpture

Painting of a serene rural landscape with cows grazing at sunset, a church spire, trees and fields in the background.
HUMAN EVOLUTION

Why it took us thousands of years to see the colour violet

The colour violet was largely missing from art before the Impressionists, and is seen differently by different cultures. Why?

by Allen Tager

Two people view a famous painting in a gallery; it’s the Mona Lisa in an ornate frame.
BEAUTY AND AESTHETICS

What happens if we make the Mona Lisa more symmetrical?

The Golden Ratio and symmetry are two universal rules of beauty. The problem is they conflict with one another

by Manil Suri

Painting of two women in historical clothing beheading a man, with one holding him down while the other uses a sword.
ARTISTS AND ART HISTORY

Gentileschi. Let us not allow sexual violence to define the artist

Artemisia Gentileschi’s body of work has been framed by her personal history. Her paintings should speak for themselves

by Eliza Apperly

Pastel painting of a smiling man with a moustache and a cat on his shoulder, set against a yellow background.
NEURODIVERSITY

When the mind is dark, making art is a thrilling way to see

For aphantasic artists with no mind’s eye, creating paintings is a way to experience the mental pictures they can’t see

by Adam Zeman

Abstract artwork depicting two distorted human figures with splashes of red and pink on a white background.
PAINTING AND SCULPTURE

Wangechi Mutu’s otherworldly artworks grow from the ground up

Directed by Ian Forster and Jackie Lebo

Etching of a man sitting on a milestone marked “Paris” with a broom, barren trees and distant houses in the background.
PAINTING AND SCULPTURE

Looking at portraits with an eye to evolutionary psychology

Why our understanding of Jean-François Raffaëlli’s ‘Roadman’ portrait can use a little help from evolutionary psychology

by Dan Sperber

Person in a hat with feathers admires a colourful painting in a gallery.
BEAUTY AND AESTHETICS

Why art seems more beautiful when you can see yourself in it

Research suggests that people find artworks more aesthetically pleasing when they’re personally relevant to them in some way

by Matt Huston

Man playing violin in stunning marble hallway with arched ceiling, elevators on both sides, plant in centre, reflections in glass.
MEANING AND THE GOOD LIFE

Art and altruism inhabit every moment for a polymath New York concierge

Directed by Lydia Cornett

Black-and-white photo of a man in a suit who is Giacometti sculpting a thin figure, surrounded by small sculpted busts, in a studio with textured walls.
PAINTING AND SCULPTURE

Stretched between dignity and despair, Giacometti’s fragile human figures

Directed by Michael Gill

Abstract painting of people in a park; a man in a suit walks, a woman in a green dress stands, and another person sits on a bench reading.
VIRTUES AND VICES

A simple morality tale finds rich depth in the hands of a master animator

A film by Georges Schwizgebel

An older man creating abstract art on a large canvas in a cluttered room with artwork, books, and a lamp on a desk.
CREATIVITY

In the hands of a butcher, a baker and a painter, making is an instinct

Directed by Dan Smeby

Abstract blue and white line drawing of multiple nude female figures, seen from various angles, arranged in a pattern.
ARTISTS AND ART HISTORY

A minotaur shifts shapes and sexes in this ferociously original animation

A film by Chaerin Im

A person sits in a chair on the phone in an art gallery, with two large paintings in the background and paintbrushes visible in the foreground.
PAINTING AND SCULPTURE

After years of struggle, an artist faces a new obstacle – staggering success

Directed by Titus Kaphar and Alex Mallis

Man in an orange jacket carrying planks stands in a dense forest next to large colourful buoys and scattered debris.
PAINTING AND SCULPTURE

Items swallowed in Japan’s tsunami form a unique memorial an ocean away

Directed by John Bolton