The revolution won't happen overnight, but it's coming. And it will take place in 1874, when the rebels who'll become known as the Impressionists hold their first exhibition in Paris. To see how the Impressionists got there, and what they were rebelling against, we've come to Cologne, and the Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, for an utterly enjoyable exhibition about the art of the 1860s and 70s that found official approval from the French state and from the traditionalist critics -- and the art that didn't. The show is entitled 1863 Paris 1874: Revolution in Art -- From the Salon to Impressionism , and this is the striking image that greets you as you enter, a painting that we've never seen before (it belongs to the Spanish central bank ) but which seems to sum up the entire topic for you in one go. The Catalan artist Pere Borrell del Caso actually created this trompe l'oeil in 1874, completely independently of the Impressionists. It wasn't originally called
Pierre Bonnard: The Colour of Memory is the first big exhibition of the year at Tate Modern in London, running from January 23 to May 6. The Tate is aiming to show how Bonnard's intense colours and modern compositions transformed art in the first half of the 20th century, with 100 pictures from museums and private collections around the world. Two Temple Place in central London is a fantastically atmospheric venue for an exhibition. Its new show is all about that most influential of 19th-century art critics, John Ruskin, and his legacy, and it marks the bicentenary of his birth. With more than 190 exhibits, John Ruskin: The Power of Seeing runs from January 26 to April 22. Admission is free. Prized Possessions: Dutch Paintings from National Trust Houses is a small but excellent show that we enjoyed when we saw it at the Holburne Museum in Bath in the summer. It's since been to the Mauritshuis in The Hague and now you can see it at an actual National Trust country house