Art
In Search of Babylon
The city of Babylon remains as monumental in fame and infamy as it once was in size. In the ancient world it was the greatest of all capitals, renowned for its marvels; not only the hanging gardens but also its huge city wall (89 kilometres long, according to Herodotus, and wide enough for a four-horse chariot to do a U-turn) and the gigantic stone obelisk of Queen Semiramis featured on early lists of the Seven Wonders of the World. To seal its legendary status, Alexander the Great made it briefly the centre of his empire and died there in 323 BC.
Previous columns
An Array of Ageless Visages
MICHAEL PRODGEROctober 2008
The faces on show at the National Gallery and the Queen's Gallery are of their times, yet timeless
Primal Emotion - in Abstract or Concrete Form
MICHAEL PRODGERSeptember 2008
Two exhibitions show how much Francis Bacon and Mark Rothko had in common, despite their different approaches
Hadrian: Man, Hero, Husband, Lover, Emperor
MICHAEL PRODGERAugust 2008
The British Museum’s exhibition reassesses the great Roman, a complex figure who left a legacy of unique glory
Orientalism Comes Out From Under the Shadows
MICHAEL PRODGERJuly 2008
A thoughtful exhibition at Tate Britain this summer lifts the veil of moral theory from Orientalist painting
Rare Visitor fom the Blue Danube Comes to the Mersey
MICHAEL PRODGERJune 2008
Liverpool is staging the UK’s first comprehensive exhibition of the work of the great Austrian avant-garde artist, Gustav Klimt
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