Arts

Moving "from the slums to the exclusive salons", Brassaï captured the brothels, gay bars and backstreets of Paris's hazy night-time in its radical inter-war years.

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

The fairies in erotic "fae" romantasy are not cute or benevolent. They are dangerous, shape-shifting beings, exactly what they were in historic folklore, according to a new book.

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.

Metamorphoses, an ancient compendium of Greek myths, has surprising parallels with contemporary concerns, from climate change to gender-based violence.

From shop rails to gallery walls, the late New York artist's distinctive humanoid figures are ubiquitous these days – but some worry his work's real meaning is being lost.

How the devastating meaning of The Meeting on the Turret Stairs is unlocked by a medieval Danish ballad – and why the painting can only be viewed for two hours every week.