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Benedict Carpenter van Barthold

Benedict Carpenter van Barthold

The Conversation

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Robert Ryman: The Real Thing at the Barbican – these mesmerising paintings must be seen in person

Don’t let the images accompanying this review guide your expectations.

08.10.2026 60

The Conversation

Benedict Carpenter van Barthold

Renoir and Love is a wonderful celebration of the fleeting joys of life

An exhibition that will leave most with a deep appreciation for Renoir as an artistic innovator and painter of the first rank.

02.10.2026 20

The Conversation

Benedict Carpenter van Barthold

Frida Kahlo at Tate Modern: how a radical artist became a global icon

Frida: The Making of an Icon is not really an exhibition of Kahlo’s work. It is a cataloguing of her legacy.

24.06.2026 40

The Conversation

Benedict Carpenter van Barthold

How to Enter the Art World by Hettie Judah offers a smørgasbord of sage advice

This is a book that takes the complex needs of older artists seriously.

24.04.2026 60

The Conversation

Benedict Carpenter Van Barthold

How Tate Modern is serving up Frida Kahlo – from canvas to cuisine

This is the challenge of the Kahlo legacy: the more ubiquitous her image becomes, the more its original and liberating meaning risks being flattened.

12.02.2026 40

The Conversation

Benedict Carpenter van Barthold

Frida Kahlo’s record-breaking painting El Sueño positions death as a roommate

Art and the body are often linked in Kahlo’s life, which was short and traumatic.

28.11.2025 30

The Conversation

Benedict Carpenter van Barthold

How a desperate lie saved a Gustav Klimt portrait from the Nazis – and helped shape its record sale price

The artist’s incredible skill once helped the painting to serve as a life-saving disguise.

24.11.2025 40

The Conversation

Benedict Carpenter van Barthold