Goya: Visions of Flesh and Blood

GOYA: VISIONS OF FLESH AND BLOOD Behind the artistic life of the great Spanish painter, and the National Gallery exhibition

Behind the artistic life of the great Spanish painter, and the National Gallery exhibition

"Exhibition on Screen" is a logical extension of the recent phenomenon of screenings of live performances of opera and theatre. Initiated with the Leonardo exhibition of 2012 at London’s National Gallery, this is its third season, and the format remains unchanged: a specific show provides the pretext for a bespoke film that goes beyond the gallery walls.

In Sol LeWitt's head is a machine that makes art

IN SOL LEWITT'S HEAD IS A MACHINE THAT MAKES ART Retrospective of conceptual artist's Wall Drawings at Fundaçion Botín in Santander 

Retrospective of conceptual artist's Wall Drawings at Fundaçion Botín in Santander

Any exhibition of Sol LeWitt’s work raises an interesting question. Why go and see it if it’s the idea that’s the most important aspect of the work? In his 1967 essay, “Paragraphs on Conceptual Art”, he clearly outlined the predominance of the idea over material form, which may seem an obvious statement to make about conceptual art (the label’s on the tin) but LeWitt went further. “All of the planning and decisions are made beforehand and the execution is a perfunctory affair,” he wrote. “The idea becomes a machine that makes the art.”

Carmen, Royal Ballet

Carlos Acosta's Covent Garden swansong proves tragic in all the wrong ways

Carlos Acosta is that rare 21st-century phenomenon – a performer who has become a household name without the help of reality TV. Even people who run a mile from ballet know the story of the Havana slum boy made good through perseverance and pure talent, from countless primetime documentaries as well as a self-penned book and stage show. The Royal Ballet cannot have imagined how things would turn out when it signed its first (and, to date, only) black principal 17 years ago.

Goya: The Portraits, National Gallery

GOYA: THE PORTRAITS, NATIONAL GALLERY Closing January 10, last chance to catch a great exhibition

So much drama and emotion - an exhibition that pulses with life

The brute nature of man in times of war, religious persecution and hypocrisy, and the destructive power of superstition. Francisco de Goya’s fame today largely rests on such themes, and they go a long way to explain just why he’s often considered the first modern artist. 

Ravel Double Bill, Glyndebourne

RAVEL DOUBLE BILL, GLYNDEBOURNE Titters for a Spanish farce, but Laurent Pelly's adventures of a naughty boy are heartbreaking

Titters for a Spanish farce, but Laurent Pelly's adventures of a naughty boy are heartbreaking

Ask opera-lovers to name their favourite one-acter and chances are the choice will be L’enfant et les sortilèges. Colette’s typically off-kilter fable of a destructive kid confronted with the objects and animals he’s damaged is set by Maurice Ravel to music of a depth which must have taken even that unshockable author by surprise. Ravel’s earlier L’heure espagnole, on the other hand, is much less likely to be top of the list.

The Heresy of Love, Shakespeare's Globe

THE HERESY OF LOVE, SHAKESPEARE'S GLOBE Conflict of restrictive dogma and individuality powerful in story of 17th century Mexico

Conflict of restrictive dogma and individuality powerful in story of 17th-century Mexico

Helen Edmundson’s The Heresy of Love may be set in 17th century Mexico and follow the conflict between strict religion and personal development, but its theme of a woman denied her voice by a surrounding male hierarchy retains real contemporary relevance. First staged at the RSC three years ago, the dramatic strengths of the work shine through in this new Globe production, which reminds us most of all of Edmundson’s confident craft and limberness of language.

Marshland

MARSHLAND Atmospheric Spanish crime thriller deserves its haul of awards

Atmospheric Spanish crime thriller deserves its haul of awards

Marshland is set on possibly the last section of the Andalusian coastline which doesn’t have high-rise condos planted all over it. Imagine the Kentish marshes of Great Expectations, but with a harsh sun cracking the parched earth, while overhead the sky throngs with geese and flamingos. It’s in this inhospitable corner of Spain that young women keep disappearing, apparently lured away to the big city, never to be heard from again.

DVD: Story of My Death

Elliptical Catalan film illuminates hypnotic encounter of sensuality and darkness

Since his debut Honour of the Knights back in 2006 Catalan director Albert Serra has carved out a niche for himself, creating cinema that is frequently oblique and visually engrossing. Story of My Death (Història de la meva mort), which won the director the Golden Leopard at the Locarno festival two years ago, looks like his most approachable film to date – it includes considerably more language than his previous works, as well as a touch more narrative – but still reveals itself slowly.

Imagine... Frank Gehry: The Architect Says Why Can't I?, BBC One

IMAGINE... FRANK GEHRY: THE ARCHITECT SAYS WHY CAN'T I?, BBC ONE Portrait of the artist with a passion for questioning everything 

Portrait of the artist with a passion for questioning everything

The hook for Alan Yentob's portrait of the 86-year-old architect Frank Gehry was the initiation and progress of an enormous new building in a rough portside area of Sydney, the Dr Chau Chak Wing Building for the business school of the University of Technology. It opened after nearly two years of construction, on time and on budget, last autumn. To commission it, the dean of the school, Ron Green, simply rang Gehry up, and Gehry replied with just four words: "I’m up for it."