This week's art world highlights feature an eclectic mix of exhibitions ranging from a Tudor king's lost weapon to mystical religious traditions, alongside record-breaking auction results and contemporary artistic achievements.
The featured exhibition of the week presents "Henry VIII's Lost Dagger" at Strawberry Hill House in London, running until February 15th. This intriguing show follows a curious quest to locate the Tudor tyrant's missing, notably phallic dagger within the house where modern gothic architecture originated. The exhibition offers visitors a unique glimpse into both royal history and architectural significance.
Several other notable exhibitions are currently on display across London. The British Museum is hosting "Sufi Life and Art" through July 26th, showcasing how this fascinating religious tradition has inspired creativity for centuries. The exhibition features everything from portraits of dervishes and saints to modern abstract art infused with Sufi spirituality. Meanwhile, the Cristea Roberts Gallery presents a Paula Rego exhibition until January 17th, exploring a period when the artist renewed her practice through dedicated drawing, partly inspired by the writings of Martin McDonagh.
Additional shows include Cristina Iglesias's massive geological sculptures at Hauser & Wirth until December 20th, which resemble rugged rock formations by the sea. In Edinburgh, Modern One is presenting "Selves and Stand-Ins" until January 25th, featuring works by Robert Mapplethorpe and Gillian Wearing that question the nature of self-identity.
The week's featured image comes from Uzbek artist and filmmaker Saodat Ismailova's first solo UK exhibition. Her work creates an unforgettably strange psychic dreamspace, featuring everything from ASMR prophets to Soviet hypnotists and mountaintop rituals. The exhibition presents scene after scene of breathtaking beauty, elemental ambience, and disorienting anxiety.
In auction news, a Fabergé egg created for the mother of Russia's last tsar sold for an astounding $23 million, marking it as the world's most expensive egg. Other significant art world developments include a new exhibition that captures photography's humorous side, revelations about the daredevils who built the Empire State Building, and news of Norman Foster's obscenely large new New York skyscraper.
French artist JR has announced ambitious plans for Pont Neuf, while a long-lost Rubens painting recently went under the hammer. The Grateful Dead's psychedelic artwork continues to tell their story, demonstrating the enduring connection between visual art and music culture.
In a significant milestone for African contemporary art, Ghana's Ibrahim Mahama, who notably draped the Barbican in purple fabric, has become the first African artist to top the annual art power list. This achievement highlights the growing global recognition of African artistic contributions.
The masterpiece of the week is Gerrit Dou's "Portrait of a Man" from around 1635-40, housed at the National Gallery in London. The subject gazes at viewers with disarming openness, as if relaxing together over a pipe in a Dutch tavern while chatting about tulip prices. His long ringlets, colorful cap, and casual clothes distinguish him from the somber merchants typically featured in 17th-century Dutch portraits.
The way the subject holds his pipe suggests he may be an artist himself, as the delicate but precise grip mirrors exactly how artists of that era would wield a fine brush. Gerrit Dou, a pupil of the great self-portraitist Rembrandt, was in his early twenties when he created this work, the same age as the man depicted. Art historians believe this is likely a self-portrait in which Dou presents himself as a friend to the viewer, showcasing both technical skill and personal intimacy that characterized the Dutch Golden Age of painting.
