Reviews Archive

'The Artist's Family' by Jan Van Noort (1620-1676), oil on canvas, from the National Museum in Gdansk, Poland. Credit: Album

Review

The embodied life of an early modern woman

Many troubling attitudes towards the female body have their roots in the early modern period, argues Erin Maglaque.

Katherine Harvey August 7, 2026

Newly arrived British Indian soldiers stand at attention prior to inspection at Singapore in December 1941.

Review

Asia’s long war against Imperial Japan

A new history of the Second World War promises to provide a vital Asian perspective on the conflict, but ends up flattening complex events into a simplistic caricature.

Robert Lyman August 6, 2026

Lenten Still Life by the Circle of Georg Flege (1566–1638). Credit: CalimaX

Review

An ode to the humble herring

Who knows what tomorrow holds for herrings and the fleets that chase them, but what a bright trail the silver darlings have cut through history.

Mathew Lyons August 5, 2026

Female members of the Free Women's Units, the women's military wing of the Kurdistan Workers' Party PKK in northern Iraq (2014)

Review

Why Kurdish militancy went into retreat

Abandoned by its erstwhile American allies and outmanoeuvred by the Turkish government, can the Kurdistan Workers' Party move beyond armed struggle and adjust to new geopolitical r..

Hannah Lucinda Smith July 31, 2026

President Donald Trump delivers his State of the Union address, Tuesday, February 24, 2026, on the House floor of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C.

Review

Inside Trump’s American regime change

The second Trump administration is defined by centralised power and a hubristic pursuit of personal legacy.

Matthew Hefler and John Sipher July 28, 2026

Review

In pursuit of Denmark’s butterflies

Lea Korsgaard, a Danish journalist and author, sets out to see all the butterflies of Denmark, discovering the charm and fragility of nature.

Nigel Andrew July 28, 2026

Massed choirs performing Handel's 'Messiah' at Crystal Palace.

Review

A choral tradition without equal

The world-beating British choral tradition, now under threat, is infinite in variety and blessed in its capacity for renewal.

Benjamin Poore July 27, 2026

A scene from 'Archduke' at the Royal Court Theatre (2026).

Review

Europe’s century of catastrophe need not have happened

Rajiv Joseph's 'Archduke' at London's Royal Court reminds us that the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and the continent's cascade into war, were not inevitable.

Brendan Simms July 23, 2026

Hilma af Klint’s 'The Ten Largest' series. Credit: dpa picture alliance

Review

Was Hilma af Klint really an abstract artist?

The Swedish mystic's paintings may be representational after all, giving form to phenomena beyond our comprehension.

Cath Pound July 23, 2026