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
There's an impressive range of new art shows starting in both London and Paris in March. So before cross-Channel traffic grinds to a juddering halt.... The rediscovery of Greek and Roman art in the 15th and 16th centuries saw artists north and south of the Alps put the human body at the forefront of their painting and sculpture. That's the theme of The Renaissance Nude from March 3 to June 2 at the Royal Academy in London. Titian, Raphael, Michelangelo, Leonardo, Bronzino, Dürer and Cranach are among those represented in an exhibition of around 90 works. Over at Tate Britain, the largest assembly of Vincent van Gogh's paintings in the UK for nearly a decade -- 45 of them -- is the big selling point of Van Gogh and Britain . The show explores how he was inspired by British art and culture -- Constable, Millais and Dickens -- and in turn inspired British artists like Francis Bacon and David Bomberg. March 27 to August 11, with standard tickets costing £22, reflecting