‘Occasionally one reads of an incident in this great metropolis so awful, so disturbing, that just for a moment one’s mental moorings are shaken’

The bold, atmospheric work of a contemporary German artist

Moving to the city where democracy began

Alastair Campbell's new book is predictable stuff

The gently eccentric Piero di Cosimo

How America saved the French Impressionists

‘Even high-profile women who assume their husband’s name on marriage, like the human rights lawyer Amal Clooney, are loudly criticised’

‘The gulf between Israel and the Obama administration will continue after Netanyahu’s re-election’

‘It seems a little early for me to give my trust and travellers cheques to Iran, merely on the promise that the new leader smiles more than the last’

‘In addressing inequality we should be careful not to wage war on those elite visions of life, such as the Getty Villa in LA, that do so much to alleviate its mundanity’