In 1941, the Nazis banned Emil Nolde from painting, for life. For the past 50 years, many Germans have viewed him as the persecuted artist but now a major exhibition in Berlin, co-curated by a Cambridge historian, has shattered this myth and sent shock waves through the country.
Two exhibitions and a new book have launched the Fitzwilliam Museum's celebration of the 70th anniversary of Indian Independence. The displays celebrate Cambridge’s past and present links with Indian culture with examples from the Museum’s world-class holdings of coins and its rarely-seen collection of Indian miniature painting.
Almost 40 years have passed since Bhupen Khakhar painted one of the most iconic paintings in the history of Indian modern art. Dr Devika Singh offers fresh insights into a generation of Indian artists whose work reflects the politics and social turmoil of a fascinating era.
The Cambridge Animal Alphabet series celebrates Cambridge's connections with animals through literature, art, science and society. Here, S is for Sheep and their presence in the evocative, pastoral paintings by Samuel Palmer.
A chance find in a site known as the Cave of Swimmers adds a colourful twist to an exhibition in Paris celebrating the work of ethnographer Leo Frobenius in raising awareness of the rock art of Africa. The discovery by Italian archaeologist Dr Giulio Lucarini, currently at Cambridge University, underlines the vital importance of safeguarding the heritage of the Gilf Kebir.
Earlier this year a conservator at the Hamilton Kerr Institute made a surprising discovery while working on a 17th-century painting owned by the Fitzwilliam Museum. As Shan Kuang cleaned the surface, she revealed the beached whale that had been the intended focus of the composition. The artwork is now back on display in the Fitzwilliam's newly-refurbished gallery of Dutch Golden Age painting.
During the First World War artists were widely believed to be spies and, around much of the country, painting became illegal. Research by art historian and broadcaster Dr James Fox reveals how deeply artists were affected, not just by the government’s ban but also by a surge of public paranoia.
Five works by Stanley Spencer (1891-1959) have been accepted in lieu of inheritance tax and allocated to the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge. They include one of his most significant early paintings and two preliminary sketches documenting his experiences of World War I. The works were acquired through HM Government’s acceptance in lieu scheme with additional support from the Art Fund, The V&A Purchase Grant Fund and the Friends of the Fitzwilliam.
The paintings of Winifred Nicholson are the subject of the latest Artist in Focus exhibition at Kettle's Yard, which begins tomorrow and runs until December 21, 2012.
It's space, but is it art? Stunning images of the galaxy are fast becoming common currency thanks to technology like the Hubble Space Telescope, but a unique investigation at the University of Cambridge this week will seek to determine whether something strange is going on behind the scenes.
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