Letters to Gwen John by Celia Paul review – a woman in her own image
The painter conveys her spiritual connection with a fellow obsessive and ascetic artist in this fascinating book of imagined correspondence that lays bare the creative process
On my radar: Jehnny Beth’s cultural highlights
The Savages frontwoman and actor on her admiration for Cillian Murphy, why she was thrilled by Sex Education and how boxing has kept her body and soul together
A Life of Picasso: Volume IV by John Richardson review – stranger things
The final volume of biography by Richardson, who died before finishing it, is a thrilling survey of Picasso’s surrealist era
Michael MacLeod obituary
Other lives: Art historian who championed the work of the British artist Thomas Hennell
Vladimir Putin knows the power of stories. With a better one, we can beat him
I faced Russia’s wrath for my TV series, Occupied. The Kremlin knows art can tell the truth about war – and it fears that, says crime writer Jo Nesbø
Astral peaks: music, books, art and more about the majesty of space
From beautiful celestial metaphors to a virtual simulacrum of an entire galaxy, our critics suggest popular culture inspired by the wonders of astronomy
‘I couldn’t face the resentment and rage’: can artistic couples have successful relationships?
From Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath to Philip Roth and Claire Bloom – novelist Charlotte Mendelson on the seething envy within famous partnerships
The Guardian view on Ukraine’s cultural heritage: a second front
Editorial: Vladimir Putin’s war against Ukraine is not just about territory. It’s about who owns a nation’s story
Three things with Jane Caro: ‘It’s not the 80s and it never will be again’
In our weekly interview about objects, the writer and commentator tells us about her bag of essentials, and the earrings she amassed in the 80s
The Guardian view on Jan Pieńkowski: funny, frightening, brilliant
Editorial: The artist understood that children can be scared by books – safely
On my radar: Akala’s cultural highlights
The rapper, presenter and author on the album he’s listening to a lot, Idris Elba’s mean side, and the enduring power of Tupac
Kurt Schwitters’ unknown portrait sitter identified as wartime German spy
Historian finds that one of the subjects the artist painted while he was detained by the British alongside other refugees who had fled the Nazis was Ludwig Warschauer, who later confessed to espionage
Mystery artist’s sculptures from classic Scottish books raise £50,000
Money from auction of works left around country to be found by passersby will fund reading charity
Mapping fiction: the complicated relationship between authors and literary maps
In a new exhibition, the long, difficult history of literary maps is explored, from James Joyce to Raymond Chandler
Cold comfort: film, music, art and more to combat the winter blues
From charmingly meta sci-fi comedy to tales of soaring through the skies, our critics select cultural works to warm your cockles