Winchester Cathedral has become a significant place for me, as I’m researching my third-year dissertation on the carvings in the quire. I knew I wanted to write my thesis on the natural world in Gothic art, and the Winchester carvings perfectly fitted my project. When I visited this summer, it was the first time I [...]
I was lured into reading this book by the extraordinary cover art: a giant monochrome human figure raises their head to reveal the anatomical structure beneath their skin. These scientifically rendered innards have been overlaid with brightly coloured demons, angels, strange creatures and abstract forms from the margins of manuscripts. The cover art encompasses the [...]
Pompeii is a vibrant presence in our cultural imagination. Many of us will have learned about it at primary school: how the volcanic eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE froze a moment of historical time, preserving forever the objects of daily life under the Roman Empire. Life and death are deeply intertwined here: it [...]
I picked up this book expecting to learn a lot about netsuke, the tiny Japanese sculptures that ceramicist Edmund De Waal inherited from his beloved uncle Ignace, known fondly as Iggie. Netsuke are little ornaments, usually ivory or wood, that were worn from the belt as part of traditional Japanese dress. During the craze for [...]
Many art lovers vocalise their disappointment when a gallery lifts a prohibition on photography. There are claims that letting photography into the sacred gallery space is a rude violation of quiet looking: photography, some argue, gets in the way of really experiencing a work of art. It makes the act of viewing a superficial and [...]
