Civilisation

What to paint, how —and why

An iconic American art form is in crisis thanks to new writers pushing politically-correct storylines

Female artists are at last getting their fair share of exhibitions, but the market is failing to catch up

Inconsequential and vacuous, Cathy Wilkes is the perfect representative for Britain at the Venice Biennale

Questioning the status of history’s ‘most dangerous’ spy

Thomas Grant’s “Court Number One” reveals the changing values of the society which the criminal justice system ultimately exists to enforce

How usury killed Christendom

When a gossip columnist criticised Thackeray, Dickens weighed in to savage his rival

A Florence exhibition celebrates one of the most influential artists you’ve never heard of

Nothing written is utterly without value, as I proved to myself by reading two random works

Louis de Funès may be France’s most beloved actor. The choice tells us a lot about those who love him

Having stolen a Klimt masterpiece, the Nazis could only show it if they hid the Jewish identity of its subject

A new thriller set in late-Stalinist Soviet Union has alarmed Russian authorities

A psychologist and sex therapist wonders where E.L. James’s celebration of sadomasochism comes from and what it means for human relationships  

Music stirs our emotions more than anything we can see. But visual notation is alluring too

Classical music outfits must be open about their carbon footprints

Today’s anonymous conductors could take a leaf out of André Previn’s crowd-pleasing book

Only a few great composers are equally gifted writers: their work can be sacred or hatefully profane

Can society stand by and allow the technology that allows people to simulate sex with their neighbour?

Promoting demagogues of Left and Right makes for increased ratings but is bad for democracy

Eurosceptics lacked the integrity to acknowledge the consequences of leaving the EU’s single market

Hollywood has finally washed its hands of a sexual predator, a mere 40 years after his conviction

State of the nation plays like 1980s-set Hansard now have to compete with extraordinary real life drama

Ella Hickson’s new play is a clever—and technically inventive—portrayal of East Germany in the 1960s

Willy Loman is back in town, still pursuing the American dream, while Ibsen’s unhappy ghosts return too

A new production of Betrayal reminds us of the playwright’s insights into male relationships