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
Painting and sculpture
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
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
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
A leaf, a bird and a fisherman animate Heraclitus’ aphorism on flux
A film by Michelle Brand
An exquisite Mongolian meditation on the oneness of all beings
Directed by Alisi Telengut
Wangechi Mutu’s otherworldly artworks grow from the ground up
Directed by Ian Forster and Jackie Lebo
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
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
Monet understood the elusive power of a place’s atmosphere
The gist of a scene or place can subtly alter our very sense of being, an affecting quality captured by Monet’s paintings
by Pablo Fernandez Velasco
Art and altruism inhabit every moment for a polymath New York concierge
Directed by Lydia Cornett
Stretched between dignity and despair, Giacometti’s fragile human figures
Directed by Michael Gill
A simple morality tale finds rich depth in the hands of a master animator
A film by Georges Schwizgebel
In the hands of a butcher, a baker and a painter, making is an instinct
Directed by Dan Smeby
A minotaur shifts shapes and sexes in this ferociously original animation
A film by Chaerin Im
Items swallowed in Japan’s tsunami form a unique memorial an ocean away
Directed by John Bolton