Art

Feathered frolics, webcam landscapes and The Hay Wain – the week in art

Exhibition of the week Ana Mendieta Neolithic monuments inspired this Cuban-born American artist to create her ephemeral, raw, poetic works that embrace nature in a truly original way. Tate Modern, London, from 15 July...

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Feathered frolics, webcam landscapes and The Hay Wain – the week in art
The Guardian

Exhibition of the week

Ana Mendieta Neolithic monuments inspired this Cuban-born American artist to create her ephemeral, raw, poetic works that embrace nature in a truly original way. Tate Modern, London, from 15 July to 17 January

Also showing

The Hay WainJohn Constable’s pastoral masterpiece comes home to Suffolk in his 250th birthday year and looks more magical than ever. Christchurch Mansion, Ipswich, until 4 October

Madelon VriesendorpSurreal, playful art that should fit perfectly in Soane’s mind-bending collection and hall of mirrors of a home. Sir John Soane’s Museum, London, 15 July to 20 September

John KayCaricatures by this Georgian artist of geologists, booksellers and more bring Enlightenment Edinburgh to life. Scottish National Gallery, Edinburgh, until 6 December

Jasper MarsalisImages taken by unattended internet cameras at global beauty spots offer a contemporary update of the picturesque. Chisenhale Gallery, London, until 6 September

Image of the week

When he wasn’t throwing cats or melting clocks, Salvador Dalí took time out in 1922 to pronounce: “The future of architecture will be soft and hairy.” In 1994, his prediction came to fruition in Tokyo with the soft curves and garden hairdo of this, the Soft and Hairy House, one of a series of startlingly expressive dwellings designed by the talented Scottish-Japanese architectural partnership of Kathryn Findlay and Eisaku Ushida. A new exhibition at V&A Dundee, until 28 August, explores the arc of Findlay’s career.

What we learned

Richard Malone has dressed Björk and his sculptures are on show in the EU in Brussels, but his biggest distraction is a noisy horse

Greek artist Andreas Angelidakis revealed the inspiration behind his RuPaul-influenced Venice pavilion

The History of Advertising Trust turned 50 this week – from the Baldy Man to mash-mad Martians, its archive has some gems

Misan Harriman went from City headhunter to protest photographer – to social media controversy

Space travel has inspired out-of-this-world art by Norman Rockwell, Alma Thomas and more

Burning flags, busty blondes and bison skulls were among some of the 50 photographs that captured America at 250

The photography of Armet Francis celebrated the African diaspora

Masterpiece of the week

Young Satyr Gathering Grapes by Annibale Carracci, 1597-1600

Need refreshment in the heat? Just reach for a grape. That’s what it’s like in the golden age pastoral world this painting conjures up. A satyr – half human, half goat, with his animal features discreetly represented here by pointy ears and a tail rather than the full furry goat legs often favoured – climbs a tree to grab a whole bunch of sweet yellow grapes. It was a popular image of sensuality and gratification in Rome at the end of the 16th century, where Caravaggio, too, was painting lush grapes and their consumers. This may seem a gentler vision than his, but that is illusory. This is a decorated panel from a harpsichord or similar musical instrument and was probably painted for the librarian of the Farnese Palace. Another panel from the instrument portrays the head satyr Silenus also grabbing grapes as two helpers hold up his portly body. These are amoral pagan images of pleasure that make you suspect those musical evenings in the Farnese Palace must have been a lot of fun. Where Caravaggio’s grapes are full of darkness and sin, Carracci’s carry no hint of retribution. National Gallery, London

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