As Giorgio Vasari’s famous story from the Sack of Rome goes, Charles V’s troops were so taken with this very painting upon storming his studio that they decided to just let him work ...

Man was even more cruel: the frescoes were mutilated during the sack of Rome in 1527, later by Napoleon’s troops in 1798; since then they have been botched by well-meaning restorers.

→A brilliant Goth’s-eye view of the sack of Rome →Alfredo Jaar makes art from the news →“The Prisoner”, a classic TV series, is apt lockdown viewing →Time to climb “The Magic ...