Arts feature
Sale of the century
Nothing could have prepared the art world for the astounding moment in 1970 when, at a Christie’s sale on 27…
There’s something about Mary
A bogus history book and a new oratorio turn Mary Magdalene into the wife of Jesus and a human rights activist. Damian Thompson feels sorry for the poor woman
Mademoiselle Non
On the eve of her retirement, Sylvie Guillem talks to Ismene Brown about legs, boobs and changing people’s lives
On the waterfront
The current redevelopment of the city’s riverside is a lost opportunity to reclaim the Thames for Londoners, says Ellis Woodman
Pop provocateur
After years of being effectively banned from exhibiting in his own country, Allen Jones finally reaches the RA with his first major UK retrospective. Andrew Lambirth meets him
Supreme painter of the inner life
Martin Gayford sees Rembrandt’s late works at the National Gallery – is this the greatest show on earth?
Surviving the Soviets
Ismene Brown talks to the Russian super-couple Maya Plisetskaya and Rodion Shchedrin about ballet, opera and the KGB
The price test
If you wanted to find a middle-aged man in a bright orange suit, matching tie and sneakers, Frieze is a…
Leigh’s late flowering
Hermione Eyre talks to filmmaker Mike Leigh about Mr Turner, Hollywood, and making films his own way
Live long and prosper
Without sci-fi, there would be no cinema, writes Peter Hoskin
Cosmic sublime
Mark Mason on the images that make grown men cry
Follow the lieder
Just how much fun is it listening to all 650 of Schubert’s songs, asks Damian Thompson
The new Turner?
What happens to an artist’s reputation when he dies? Traditionally, there was a period of cooling off when the reputation,…
Master of alchemy
Martin Gayford talks to a surprisingly jolly Anselm Kiefer about art and metamorphosis
All too human
Alasdair Palmer reveals the monstrous egomaniac behind Michelangelo’s artistic genius
Independence will lead to artistic ‘desecration’
Daniel Jackson foresees an impoverished cultural landscape for an independentScotland, with artists forced to do Salmond’s bidding
The treasures of Turin
Laura Gascoigne enjoys a grand tour of Italy’s former capital city
The enigma of Werner Herzog
William Cook watches a new box set from the BFI that reveals the full extent of the German director’s genius – and insanity
State of independence
Lloyd Evans tours the Edinburgh Festival in search of clues about the outcome of the referendum
Magic bullet
Stephen Bayley explains why he has become addicted to Japan’s Shinkansen
Loose, wild and free
Martin Gayford talks to Wynton Marsalis about the rigours of playing jazz
Four years of war
Kate Chisholm on the BBC’s ambitious new radio series
Voice of enchantment
Some of my most enjoyable evenings, when I reviewed opera weekly for The Spectator, were spent at the Royal College…
Knights of the baton
Matthew Stadlen talks to three conductors about growing old very gracefully
