Exhibition of the week Enlightened Princesses
Well, here’s a change from Diana’s dresses at Kensington Palace – this ambitious exhibition surveys the intellectual and cultural world of the 18th-century Enlightenment through the lives of Caroline of Ansbach, Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, and Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz, German princesses who married into Britain’s Hanoverian dynasty. As well as featuring excellent art by Gainsborough, Zoffany and Yinka Shonibare this may be a royal blow against Brexit, revelling in the Germanic nature of our monarchy and the glories of our European heritage.
• Kensington Palace, London, until 12 November Also showing Gregory Crewdson
Spooky David Lynch-like photographs that suggest unresolved narratives of American life. Beautiful and unsettling.
• Photographers Gallery, London, until 8 October Wyndham Lewis: Life, Art, War
One of Britain’s most explosive early modernists records the terror of the trenches.
• Imperial War Museum North, Manchester, until 1 January Bonnie Prince Charlie and the Jacobites
Art, artefacts and documents tell the tale of the last violent conflict between England and Scotland when Charles Stuart led his rebel army across the border in 1745.
• National Museum of Scotland, Edinburgh, until 12 November RA Summer Exhibition
Tracey Emin and Gary Hume are among the eminent academy members sharing wall space with Sunday painters in this democratic festival of art.
• Royal Academy, London, until 20 August Masterpiece of the week |
The Stonemason’s Yard by Canaletto, circa 1725
Instead of the polished urban vistas for which he is famous, this painting by the Venetian master of Enlightened views portrays a hardworking corner of the city where huge chunks of hewn stone show how Venice got built. Canaletto takes us behind the scenes of his city to expose the work that went into it. Beauty is born from the artisan’s sweat. Yet the scene is quiet, as if work has stopped, and Venice is no longer growing. It is now, in the 18th century, frozen and beginning to decline.
•National Gallery, London Image of the week |
The Club Chaos and Klubstitute float in the San Francisco Pride parade, 25 June 1989. Photographer Daniel Nicoletta’s chronicling of Harvey Milk’s rise to office and the growth of the San Francisco LGBT community in the years after his assassination has been published in a new book. What we learned this week Nicholas Serota’s Tate changed Britain A painting of nursing mother wins BP Portrait award 2017 Indigenous art in Australia is helping to protect the land from mining Street artist Sabo has been dubbed the rightwing Banksy The inspiration behind African architect Francis Kéré’s new Serpentine pavilion Three men have been charged over Damien Hirst counterfeits that sold for $400,000 Photographer Gregory Crewdson’s new show had a movie-sized budget John Outram’s Grade II*-listed pumping station defied Margaret Thatcher All non-human life is at the Barbican’s new sci-fi exhibition The world’s tallest wooden building to open in Brisbane The harsh childhood of the man who built the Brooklyn Bridge 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 To follow us on Twitter: @GdnArtandDesign. |
Queen Charlotte, 1771, by Johann Joseph Zoffany from the Enlightened Princesses exhibition at Kensington Palace. Photograph: Royal Collection Trust/Queen Elizabeth II 
