Arts

The fairies in erotic "fae" romantasy are not cute or benevolent. They are dangerous, shape-shifting beings, exactly what they were in historic folklore, according to a new book.

For centuries, The Triumph of Bacchus was misattributed then hidden – now it is at the centre of a major exhibition. Here are five groundbreaking artworks wrongly attributed to men.

Metamorphoses, an ancient compendium of Greek myths, has surprising parallels with contemporary concerns, from climate change to gender-based violence.

From shop rails to gallery walls, the late New York artist's distinctive humanoid figures are ubiquitous these days – but some worry his work's real meaning is being lost.

How the devastating meaning of The Meeting on the Turret Stairs is unlocked by a medieval Danish ballad – and why the painting can only be viewed for two hours every week.

In 1999, an artwork of a dishevelled divan strewn with condoms and lager cans sparked a media frenzy and turned artist Tracey Emin into a celebrity. Why? And what happened next?

In 1957, the painter showed the BBC how he built up his pictures of industrial urban life from his imagination, and described the loneliness that informed them.