Exhibition of the week
Titian: Love, Desire, Death
The Greek myths are brought to smokily erotic, achingly emotional life in the series of stupendous canvases this great Venetian painter created for Philip II of Spain in the 16th century. Closed by Covid-19 after just three days, this wondrous reunion of Titian’s fiery dreams is back for the rest of the year as the National Gallery reopens.
• National Gallery, London from 8 July until 17 January
Also showing
Hannah Quinlan and Rosie Hastings
A captivating and seductive mix of drawing, fresco and video makes for a liberating and haunting take on LGBTQ+ Britain.
• Focal Point, Southend from 8 July until 30 August
Portraying Pregnancy
Images of the pregnant body and self, from the Renaissance to now, as this museum that mixes art and social history becomes one of the first in the country to reopen.
• Foundling Museum, London from 8 July until 23 August
Don McCullin
Quiet and contemplative images of landscape by the master of unsettling reportage.
• Hauser and Wirth, Somerset until 6 September
About the Human Figure
The provocative bodies of Enrico David flirt with Peter Doig and Picabia in this carnal group show.
• Michael Werner Gallery, London until 4 September
Black Lives Matter has underlined the crucial role played by black photographers. We asked eight British leaders in their field to pick a favourite image from their archives – and explain why it’s so important to them. Pictured is Pinky, by Jennie Baptiste. You can see and read all of them here.
Masterpiece of the week
Cosimo Tura, A Muse (Calliope?). Probably 1455-60
Whoever modelled for this fantastic painting, she is given a strange magical power by the artist. Enthroned amid sprouting gilded foliage, monstrous golden dolphins, red rubies and a pearl-bedecked shell, she turns away haughtily in her magnificence as she personifies a mythical being. The muses were ancient Greek personifications of the arts. This is one of the very first Renaissance paintings to reinvent classical myth – and the proliferating grotesques of Tura’s vision show how the rediscovery of the pagan world set artists free from Christian morals to delight in the senses.
• National Gallery, London, open and free entry from 8 July
Don’t forget
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