Arts

A walkway in the library of Merton College Oxford, lined with rows of bookcases and a globe at the end (Credit: Courtesy of the Warden and Fellows of Merton College Oxford)

The enchanting history of Oxford University's 750-year-old library

Predating the Aztec Empire, Merton College Library in Oxford has been used by everyone from celebrated 14th-Century mathematicians to JRR Tolkien.

Side-by-side image of monotoned and coloured versions of Raphael's Portrait of a Young Woman with a Unicorn (Credit: Alamy/ Galleria Borghese)

Why this 16th-Century painting isn't what it seems

Overpainted images hidden inside Raphael's 16th-Century Portrait of a Young Woman with a Unicorn show how the image of the ideal woman has been carefully controlled by men.

The Triumph of Bacchus by Michaelina Wautier. A crowd surrounds Roman god Bacchus, who is reclining in the centre. Amongst the humans are satyrs, a donkey and a goat. (Credit: Kunsthistorisches Museum, Vienna)

These artworks are by women - men got the credit

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.

Spotlight

A black-and-white image of Rose Dugdale with her fist raised (Credit: Alamy)

The English heiress who masterminded 'one of the largest art heists in history'

Rose Dugdale rejected her privileged background and joined the IRA. In April 1974, reported the BBC, she took part in "one of the largest art heists in history".

Around the world

Crop version of what is reportedly a young Jane Boleyn sketched by Hans Holbein the Younger (Credit: Alamy)

The truth about Tudor England's 'most hated woman'

Was 16th-Century aristocrat Jane Boleyn a treacherous, "sex-mad" spy – or was she a convenient scapegoat? A new book explores her story.

Inside the completion of Gaudi's Sagrada Famu00edlia

A rare peek at La Sagrada Família's finishing details

A century after Gaudí's passing, his masterpiece La Sagrada Família is reaching its conclusion.

The hoax that shook Australian literature

Ern Malley was regarded as one of Australia's most influential poets. Except he never existed.

Art history

Berthe Morisot's The Cradle, which was key to Impressionism

The overlooked painting that unlocks Impressionism

While many have focused on Monet's Impression, Sunrise as a key Impressionist painting, another image was pivotal to the movement that launched 150 years ago.

Has pop art icon Keith Haring been 'sanitised'?

The tragic romance hidden in a 19th-Century painting

'An enormous inner desolation': The darkness behind LS Lowry's city scenes

Why critics scorned these 'saucy' British paintings

Watch

Is opera still 'elitist and exclusive'?

The Travel Show follows soprano Isabelle Peters for exclusive behind-the-scenes access to the London Coliseum.

Classical music

Margot the dog listens attentively as a TV behind her can be seen playing a classical piece (Credit: Serenity Strull)

The music that keeps animals calm

You can find many different playlists for dogs and cats online. However, not all styles of music are effective.

Janet Leigh screaming in the shower in Psycho (Credit: Alamy)

How the Psycho music score changed film forever

Alfred Hitchcock's grisly horror might not have become a classic without composer Bernard Herrmann's disturbing score.

A view of the inside of the Cathedral of Notre-Dame de Paris with people seated inside the nave during a mass (Credit: Getty Images)

Does Notre-Dame still sound the same?

Performers and visitors to the famous gothic cathedral in the midst of the River Seine may find some subtle differences to the way sound bounces around its walls.

Anita Lasker-Wallfisch holding a photograph of herself when she was younger playing the cello (Credit: Getty Images)

How music saved a cellist's life in Auschwitz

After being sent to the Nazi death camp in 1943, Anita Lasker survived by playing in its women's orchestra. In 1996, she spoke to the BBC about her ordeal.