
A Victorious Protégé
One hundred years after their deaths in 1918, some one hundred drawings by the Austrian artists Gustav Klimt and Egon Schiele from Vienna’s Albertina Museum have been brought to London. The Royal Academy’s Klimt/Schiele: Drawings exhibition has an obvious comparative premise. Hanging side by side, extraordinary works by each artist share the space throughout the exhibition. This creates compelling juxtapositions – both Klimt and Schiele experimented with linearity, bringing n


A Brexmas Miracle, but May’s on Thin Ice
We begin this week’s Christmassy edition with an extract of the Gospel according to Morgan: “And lo, Theresa went unto Brussels, and there was given unto her a deal. But returning to Westminster she found that there was no room for her deal in Parliament. Indeed, there could be found no one willing to take her and her deal in, such that even a (strong and stable) stable would suffice. Then, in the bleak mid-winter, many not-so-wise men saw that Theresa was making the Party


You Say You Want a Revolution? – Plus ça change
For the last three weeks, France has been embroiled in a series of strikes and protests. They were originally sparked by the announcement that President Macron’s Government was planning to raise fuel prices, but have since grown to express the general dissatisfaction with Macron’s performance – a recent YouGov poll suggested as many as 78% disapprove of his leadership so far. As a symbol of the origins of the movement in the automotive industry, the protesters have taken to


Walter Sickert as Jack the Ripper
The first art-related conspiracy this series of ten aims to tackle is one of the most infamous incidents in modern history, which occasionally rears its curious head in the discourse – but is, perhaps for the best, left out of the canon of traditional teachings of the subject. The Jack the Ripper murders of 1888 gripped London, shaping much of the social scene of the time. Today it is considered an elusive mystery that has been accepted as such, though over time many researc


The “ubiquitous” interactive medium and the radically innovative art form: Videogames: Design/Play/D
What comes to your mind when you think of videogames? If you are a so-called ‘hardcore gamer’ or a game enthusiast, games are intellectually challenging and aesthetically pleasing, but more importantly they are to be enjoyed. On the other hand, if you are an art lover who is at the Victoria & Albert to explore its collections of Islamic art for instance, they might stand for the unworthy hours and money spent by people who have nothing better to do in their lives. For both pa

In Defense of Bean: Art History and Pop Culture
If you’re looking for a positive spin on art history in the media, you’ve come to the right place. My name is Anna Thompson, an undergraduate in my second year at the Courtauld, wondering how people in the wider public can feel less afraid to talk about and enjoy art. Visual media is something that nobody feels afraid of accessing. Yet, when translated to painting, sculpture, and architecture, most people will say with certainty that ‘they don’t know much about art’. In thi


A rare, beautiful stasis: Steve McQueen’s Widows
Widows grabs you. It puts you deep into the tight streets of Chicago and paints an image of struggle and poverty sandwiched against extreme wealth. It is rare for a heist movie to work so hard at making the setting a character in itself, yet Widows isn’t a regular heist film. Directed by Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave), Widows is a reimagining of the ‘80s British TV show of the same name.
This is a heist movie. That being said, this is a not a film of assumptions.


Cosmically Curated: December Art 'Scopes
The holidays are a busy time of year when it can be hard to squeeze in a highbrow culture fix. Still, you don’t want to end up on Santa’s naughty art student list... Check out your horoscope below and find out what’s a must see for your sign. illustrated by Jemima Hooke Aries Ho ho ho! Venus is in your HAUS. That means you’ll be extra attractive to others – perfect time to take a few selfies at Yayoi Kusama’s exhibition at Victoria Miro (until 21 December). With the star


Battleship Putinkin: Anarchy in the Ukraine
This week tensions between the Ukraine and Russia took an explosive turn (literally) when ships from each country’s navy clashed off the coast of Crimea, annexed by Russia in 2014 amidst a chorus of international grumbling. Despite the flagrant disregard for international law, this Russian invasion of another country’s sovereign territory was challenged only by a series of economic sanctions. Since then relations between Ukraine and Russia have been frosty at best, with nea