Exhibition of the week
Jean Dubuffet: 37 People
Many commercial art galleries have started publishing prices in online shows, which has eye-popping results here: a cartoon-like painting best described as LS Lowry meets South Park will set you back $2m. But there are good reasons for Dubuffet to be in vogue. He recognised the power of graffiti, setting the scene for today’s street art … and $2m doodles. This is a nice taster for a big survey of his work opening soon at the Barbican.
• Timothy Taylor Gallery online until 22 April.
Also showing
Ray Harryhausen
A “virtual experience” of this blockbuster survey of the special-effects genius who brought the art of myth to cinema.
• National Galleries of Scotland online until 22 February.
Gabriel Tendai Choto
Tender, evocative paintings with a Manet-like feel for the beauty of modern life.
• Anima Mundi Gallery online until 10 April.
Past Present
Artists including Yinka Shonibare and Lisa Brice respond to inspirations from art history.
• Stephen Friedman Gallery online until 9 April.
British Museum Timeline
A brief history of the world through objects in the British Museum, from stone age hatchets to samurai armour.
• British Museum online.
Image of the week
A new exhibition in Kentucky, involving Breonna Taylor’s mother Tamika Palmer, aims to honour her legacy one year after her killing at the hands of police. Read the full story.
What we learned
A Galician exhibition of works by Spanish surrealist Maruja Mallo may have been all fake
The late jeweller Elsa Peretti generated around 10% of Tiffany’s turnover
Three Imperial Easter eggs are being lent by Moscow to the UK
Wasteland wanderer Tish Murtha captured Tyneside’s beating heart
Gary Calton’s photographs show the healing power of nature
Henry Taylor described his mission to paint black American life
Oddly soothing video clips comprises a new wave of digital art
Antony Gormley’s beach art has left a Suffolk town divided
Stage designer Jessica Hung Han Yun treats each job as a mystery
A magical trampoline stars in Jamel Shabazz’s best photograph
The National Gallery has designed its first show for mobile phones
Visitors will get their hands dirty at Melbourne’s new 12-night arts festival
America’s backroads offer endless rickety pleasures
Da Vinci’s sexuality is the subject of bemusing screen portrayals
Homer Sykes snapped two decades of British history
Visits to world’s top museums and galleries have fallen 77%
The Great British Art Tour unearthed a masked menace, a feasting lizard, an overlooked sculptor, a riot-inciting puppy and an NHS maverick.
Masterpiece of the week
Celebrating the Birth, 1664, Jan Steen
Here’s an Easter egg of a painting … and the yolk is on the proud father showing off his newborn while the wit behind him, probably a self-portrait by Steen, makes the horn sign of the cuckold with his fingers. The implication is that someone else is the child’s father. While the exhausted mother recovers with her female friends on the other side of the room, a servant pulls suggestively on a sausage. “Cracking eggs” was a euphemism for having sex. Steen’s comic world is truly earthy, rejoicing in the warm, solid setting of a hearty kitchen and a homely feast. Eggs are staples of Dutch and Flemish art, from Bosch and Bruegel onwards. Their broken forms hint at naughtiness, but also promise pancakes.
• At the Wallace Collection online.
Don’t forget
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