Portrait power, black power and flower power – the week in art

Old masters spill their secrets, America makes a fist of its history and New Order say it with roses – all in your weekly dispatch

Exhibition of the week

The Encounter
This exhibition of portrait drawings made from life by the likes of Holbein, Leonardo da Vinci and Rembrandt is a chance to get close to the creative processes of some of the greatest artists in history. It homes in on the magical way great portraits preserve people who lived long ago.
• National Portrait Gallery, London, 13 July – 22 October.

Also showing

Soul of a Nation
Radical art in the age of Black Power is revisited in this exciting survey of American cultural history.
• Tate Modern, London, 12 July – 22 October.

Emma Hart
Ceramics with an Italian flavour from the winner of the Max Mara art prize for women. Read our interview with her here.
• Whitechapel Art Gallery, London, 12 July – 3 September.

Whales: Beneath the Surface
Dive deep into the natural history of earth’s largest animals in a special exhibition that coincides with a blue whale skeleton taking centre stage in the museum’s main hall.
• Natural History Museum, London, 14 July – 28 February.

Jiro Takamatsu
String, bottles and shadows are among the materials this innovative Japanese sculptor used.
• Henry Moore Institute, Leeds, 13 July – 22 October.

Masterpiece of the week

Portrait of a Young Man, c1480-85, by Sandro Botticelli

This portrait is astonishingly immediate and fresh, like looking at someone you’ve met in the street. Botticelli captures the pensive personality of an unknown 15th-century youth with such sensitivity and precision that we almost don’t notice the artistic accomplishment – we’re so directly taken with the young man’s hesitant and searching eyes.
• National Gallery, London.

Image of the week

A Basket of Roses, 1890, by Henri Fantin-Latour
This French painter’s still life was adapted by graphic artist Peter Saville in 1983 as the cover of the New Order album Power, Corruption & Lies. It hangs now at Manchester Art Gallery in the exhibition True Faith – given a five-star review by Adrian Searle – which assesses the artistic legacy of the band and its predecessor Joy Division.
• Manchester Art Gallery, until 3 September.

What we learned this week

Hepworth Wakefield won the museum of the year crown

Conceptual artist Yael Bartana is posing the question “What if women ruled the world?” at Manchester international festival. So we asked some we know for their thoughts

True Faith takes a five-star look at the artistic legacy of the bands Joy Division and New Order

The Design Museum waves a rainbow flag with pride

Steve Miller x-rayed the Amazon jungle

… while the Arctic disappears before our eyes

… and the first colour photos of America’s wilderness remind us of its fragile beauty

The artist John Minton is remembered in Chichester

Actor Dennis Hopper documented America’s counterculture

Lewis Baltz’s photos of urban wastelands could be anywhere

Korean barista Lee Kang-bin finds inspiration in a coffee cup

Melbourne makes its street bollards prettier

David Spero’s best shot seems to take us back in time

Wartime Giles cartoons have come to light

RIBA North raises the Liverpool that was never built

Guardian readers shared their art on the theme of transportation

The Royal Academy will look back at 250 years of Summer Exhibitions

Get involved

Guardian members can book now for an exclusive private view on 14 July: True Faith, a group show exploring the impact of Joy Division and New Order on the art world, part of Manchester international festival.

Don’t forget

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