Vaginas in Versailles, Julian Opie's genius and flying…

Vaginas in Versailles, Julian Opie's genius and flying rocks – the week in art

John Singleton Copley's The Death of Major Peirson, 1781, part of Tate Britain's Fighting History exhibition. — John Singleton Copley’s The Death of Major Peirson, 1781, part of Tate Britain’s Fighting History exhibition. Photograph: Tate Britain

Exhibition of the Week

Fighting History
The genre of “history painting”, telling grand stories of great events, was Britain’s most honoured art form in the late 18th century. What relevance does it have today? This exhibition aims to answer that, comparing scenes from the Napoleonic Wars with such contemporary histories as Jeremy Deller’s Battle of Orgreave.

Tate Britain, London SW1P from 9 June until 13 September

Other exhibitions this week

James Turrell
The American master of light and colour turns an English stately home into a psychedelic wonderland.

Houghton Hall, King’s Lynn PE31 from 7 June until 24 October

Carsten Holler
The anarchist king of audience interaction is guaranteed to create a funfair of a show.

Hayward Gallery, London SE1 from 10 June until 6 September

Waddesdon Bequest
The British Museum opens a spanking new gallery for its great collection of Renaissance treasures.

British Museum, London WC1B from 11 June.

Bridget Riley
Shimmering and mindbending waves of colour come to the seaside.
• De La Warr Pavilion, Bexhill-on-Sea TN40 from 13th June until 6th September

Masterpiece of the Week

Turner's The Fighting Temeraire. — JMW Turner’s The Fighting Temeraire. Photograph: National Gallery/Corbis/By kind permission of the Trustees of the National Gallery, London

JMW Turner – The Fighting Temeraire (1839)
A ship of the line glows eerily in the London sunset as it is towed to its last dock by the Thames. History blazes and memories burn. War is over but it still reddens the sky.