Art

Catherine King reviews two new books on art

David Elliott looks at how Mussolini, Stalin and Hitler used culture to their own ends and how the ramifications of this has continued to the present.

F.Bremer and E.Rydell examine the tricks used by preachers in 17th-century England and America to hold their audiences.

Sue Harper reveals how a swashbuckling tale of gypsy romance opens an unexpected window on 1940s women in Britain.

Brian Allen looks at how contemporary military and political aspirations and events inspired – or failed to inspire the artists of mid-Georgian Britain.

Luke Syson examines how artifice, art and political calculation combined to produce medal portraits by Sperandio of Mantua for two of Renaissance Italy's "warhorses", Giovanni Bentivoglio and Federico da Montelfeltro.

Andrew Martindale explains why Renaissance Sienese doctored the history of a 12th-century papacy when decorating their new city hall.

How did Hollywood screenwriter Frank Capra get involved in the sort of film projects that in his and other hands filled a generation of American servicemen with a fundamentalist world view? James Gilbert offers an explanation.

Peter Higgs looks at how a monumental Hellenistic statue sheds light on culture, religion and identity in Roman North Africa.

From martyred medieval saint through to 20th-century museum - Philippa Glanville unravels the enigmatic history of an object which opens a window onto England's religious turmoil.