Today’s highlights
Art
Frank Auerbach, the German who painted London
Sent from Berlin to London to escape the Nazis, artist Frank Auerbach – who died earlier this month – painted his new surroundings over and over again
Through glass, darkly
As arguments about Notre-Dame’s restoration rage on, a new exhibition gathers together stained-glass windows that caused their own controversy in the 1930s
What two suits and a parrot say about modern art
A London exhibition featuring Joseph Beuys and two more key conceptual artists feels dated if occasionally thrilling
The artist who embraced human imperfections
What he saw as the blandness of tradition bore little or no resemblance to the world he knew and the art he wanted to create
An exhibition at a moment of vital importance
In a tense year, a new Athens exhibition celebrates our precious freedom to vote
The hunt for the golden owl is over
Europe’s greatest ever treasure hunt is over, leaving thousands bereft
Books
Stories from Berlin, a city of history
From Sally Bowles to George Smiley by way of Kreuzberg and Alexanderplatz, the best books about Berlin
Rip it up and start again
Too centralised, too short term, too obsessed with Twitter, our political system is a dysfunctional mess. If we don’t fix it, we’ll all suffer
Pedro Almodóvar’s vision without direction
There’s pain and glory in The Last Dream – a patchy collection from the Spanish film-maker – but its highlight is all about his mother
Dorothy Parker and the Spanish civil war
The wisecracking writer was traumatised and transformed by her 1937 visit to Spain to support the Republican cause in the civil war
What Miss Merkel did next
If a new novel is to be believed, the former German chancellor retired to the countryside and started solving murders
How you can star in a hit novel (and support torture victims at the same time)
A literary festival that reminds us of the healing power of words
Music
When Depeche Mode conquered East Berlin
How the band may have played a bigger part in the country’s history than is yet appreciated
Is Berlin losing its voice?
In September, the senate suddenly announced 10% cuts to the city’s arts budget
Cork’s boozers, ghouls and jazz fans
Ireland’s pubs are struggling but a music festival brings people to the streets
Belfast and furious: The rise and rise of Kneecap
The Feargal Sharkey-approved hip hop trio are tearing up the world with message-based rap that’s neither hectoring nor earnest
The concert promoter who took a stand
Graham was one of the most high-profile critics of Reagan’s visit to Bitburg. It was personal
The Taylor Swift scandal is not a scandal
Giving a police escort to a woman who has been a terror target was the right thing to do
Film
The actress pursued by misfortune and tragedy
Her young daughters grieving before a grave she didn’t occupy was not even the worst tribulation to afflict the life of the Hungarian
Gladiator II, stunning epic meets toga-clad high camp
At 86, with a number of all-time classics to his name, Ridley Scott has earned the right to have some fun
Dorothy Parker and the Spanish civil war
The wisecracking writer was traumatised and transformed by her 1937 visit to Spain to support the Republican cause in the civil war
Bird is a beautiful synthesis of magic and gritty realism
In Andrea Arnold’s feature, Nykiya Adams and Barry Keoghan present a moving performance without straying into sentimentality
The man who was born twice
The relationship between Jean Marais and Jean Cocteau was one of the great romances of 20th-century European culture
Blitz, Steve McQueen at his finest
Textured and monumental, Blitz is the work of a great British director at the height of his powers
Theatre
The actress pursued by misfortune and tragedy
Her young daughters grieving before a grave she didn’t occupy was not even the worst tribulation to afflict the life of the Hungarian
What’s the point of the Dr. Strangelove revival?
Yes, it’s amusing – but Steve Coogan is no Sellers and this can’t match the Kubrick classic
A Greek king stalks the West End
A new production of Oedipus shows how it should be done
Lehman Brothers collapses… again
A good show first time round is back for an ill-advised encore
Theatre review: Felicity Kendal shows she is still on top of her game in Filumena
A play that’s as light and refreshing as a glass of champagne
Matthew d’Ancona’s Culture: Music, mayhem and murder in Todd Phillips’s Gotham sequel
Joker: Folie à Deux takes music and makes it a medium for deception, pain and lethal misunderstanding
Great European Lives
The actress pursued by misfortune and tragedy
Her young daughters grieving before a grave she didn’t occupy was not even the worst tribulation to afflict the life of the Hungarian
The bohemian travel writer always drawn back home
The troubled journalist forged her place in and around a world to which she never quite belonged
The man who was born twice
The relationship between Jean Marais and Jean Cocteau was one of the great romances of 20th-century European culture
The artist who embraced human imperfections
What he saw as the blandness of tradition bore little or no resemblance to the world he knew and the art he wanted to create
The concert promoter who took a stand
Graham was one of the most high-profile critics of Reagan’s visit to Bitburg. It was personal
René Lacoste, the tennis superstar who became a fashion pioneer
The Frenchman won seven Grand Slam singles titles in the 1920s before becoming an innovator in the world of sportswear and tennis equipment