Reviews

Review

Did the Enlightenment fail?

The Enlightenment was a way of thinking born out of the bloody conflicts of the 17th and 18th centuries dedicated to tolerance and moderation, and the violence of the French Revolu..

Angus Brown April 16, 2024

Review

Rethinking Impressionism

The Musée d’Orsay’s latest exhibition marks the 150th anniversary of Impressionism’s birth. It challenges us to rethink the way we see the movement – and exposes us to an altogethe..

Alexander Lee April 15, 2024

Review

A dynasty of human frailty

The Capetian dynasty of France is presented in a new light through the captivating stories of its rogue’s gallery of killers, weaklings, fools, tyrants, fanatics and lechers.

Nicholas Morton April 11, 2024

Review

There are few winners in the wars for the Middle East

In the wake of the Arab Spring, the Middle East has become an arena for fierce and often violent competition among great powers, regional actors and militant groups.

Afshon Ostovar April 8, 2024

Review

A wild Winterreise

Hans Zender's reimagining of Schubert's masterpiece captures the song cycle's latent modernism.

Benjamin Poore April 8, 2024

Review

The creative industrial complex

At a time when society is divided and all aspects of life are deeply politicised, art should be the final refuge of neutrality.

Alexandra Wilson April 4, 2024

Review

The sublime hubris of Tropical Modernism

Tropical Modernism symbolised the ill-judged policies of rapid, state-led economic development that followed decolonisation.

Wessie du Toit April 4, 2024

Review

How China made it

The story of how the United States and China became so economically intertwined that they cannot break apart is at the heart of one of the most pressing issues in international pol..

Michael Sheridan April 3, 2024

Review

Kind of Blue’s quiet mystery

James Kaplan's new study of jazz is a tribute to serendipity; that the right people find each other at the right time and create something too special for words.

Max Mitchell March 27, 2024