Reviews Archive

Review

Henry Fuseli knew about nightmares

The painter Henry Fuseli traded in the unconscious, the weird, and the fantastical. A forceful, aggressive artist, for whom darkness was always a more congenial medium than light, ..

Alexander Lee March 20, 2025

Review

The language of flowers

We have failed to give the botanical world its fair due, as a new history of art explores.

Caroline Eden March 19, 2025

Postage stamp printed in 1958 on the 50th anniversary of Belgium's annexation of Congo.

Review

An empire of ivory and inhumanity

A vivid account tells the story of Belgian colonialism in Africa with the skill of a seasoned travel writer, exposing a history of hubris and greed that has cast a long shadow.

Franklin Nelson March 18, 2025

The Dome of the Rock on the Temple Mount, in the Old City of Jerusalem.

Review

The power of pilgrimage

A delightful and compelling history interprets pilgrimage as an activity in which the secular and the sacred are inextricably entwined.

Katherine Harvey March 14, 2025

A scene from Mohammad Rasoulof's The Seed of the Sacred Fig.

Review

Iranian cinema against the Islamic Republic

In its sweeping ambition and sharp social commentary, The Seed of the Sacred Fig is Iranian film at its most powerful, providing us with a window into Iran’s political turmoil and ..

Ryan Nazari March 3, 2025

The Carpathian Mountains rising above the clouds at sunrise in Ukraine.

Review

Wandering through the Carpathian Mountains

Nick Thorpe’s meandering journey through the Carpathian Mountains combines literary flair and intimate human stories to paint a perceptive, captivating portrait of Europe’s last wi..

Caroline Eden February 28, 2025

Review

Inside the early modern spy’s toolkit

Meticulous archival research has shed light on the various tricks and tools used by spies in early modern England, uncovering a pivotal moment in the development of intelligence as..

Pauline Blistène February 25, 2025

Review

Partygoing at the opera

The idea of the party has a long lineage in the history of opera. Mark-Anthony Turnage’s Festen is the latest contribution.

Benjamin Poore February 19, 2025

Mont Sainte-Victoire (1906) by Paul Cézanne.

Review

Goya in conversation with Cézanne

The Courtauld's exhibition, Goya to Impressionism, embodies the importance of art that speaks in multiple individual voices, and creates a world in which the painter's provocations..

Mathew Lyons February 18, 2025