DAVID YEARSLEY is fascinated by the account of four composers who transformed their experiences of the second world war and the Holocaust into deeply moving works of art
AS THE art historian Noah Charney wrote about the magnificent Ghent altarpiece, “just about everything bad that could happen to a painting has happened.” This illustrated history of it by Harry de Paepe and Jan van der Veken features a handy timeline of its misfortunes at the back, including being hidden from rioting Protestants and nearly being blown up in a mine by the Nazis.
The grand artwork by the Van Eyck brothers, unveiled in 1432, is one of the most famous pieces of religious art, and it still holds new mysteries. Recent restorations, to widespread amazement, revealed the original lamb at its centre.
SIMON PARSONS applauds an artist who rescues and rehumanises stories of women, the victims of violence, from a feminist perspective
JULIA THOMAS unpicks the mental processes that explain why book-to-film adaptations so often disappoint
JOHN GREEN welcomes a remarkable study of Mozambique’s most renowned contemporary artist
BLANE SAVAGE recommends the display of nine previously unseen works by the Glaswegian artist, novelist and playwright


