As the pioneer of Cubism, godfather to the Surrealists, and creator of the enduring anti-war painting Guernica, Picasso produced thousands of paintings in his lifetime, not to mention his sculptures, ceramics, stage designs, poetry and plays. A recent BBC Forum discussion looked at Picasso’s life and work.
Three of Picasso's many interpretations of Las Meninas by Velasquez stare down from our walls. This short video helps the non-expert interpret Picasso's works.
To The Globe to visit the exhibition and then watch Taming of the Shrew as a groundling. Great fun.
However, my relationship with the Bard's works has always been a complicated one. Over time, I will try to develop some of my thoughts, inspirations and reservations here.
For now, some others' more interesting observations:
"He who cannot draw on three thousand years is living from hand to mouth", so said Goethe, as quoted in Jostein Gaarder's philosophy primer-cum-mystery novel Sophie's World.
Imagine a job "big enough for the spirit".
Roman Krznaric gave a talk on his book, How to Find Fulfilling Work, as part of the launch of The School of Life’s practical philosophy book series. Krznaric offered five essential ideas for career change, drawing on career advice from Leonardo da Vinci, Aristotle and a woman who gave herself the unusual 30th birthday present of trying out 30 different jobs in one year.
Inspired by the interplay between therapy, poetry, neuroscience and novels in Start the Week.
Forensic psychotherapist Dr Gwen Adshead talked about the lost natures of her Broadmoor patients, in whom she can still sometimes recognise the little boys they once were.
William Boyd explored how early talent can flourish suddenly and then fade slowly.
Craig Raine compared the "language on point" composition of a poem to the art of dress-making.
You cannot do a kindness too soon, for you never know how soon it will be too late - Ralph Waldo Emerson
Inspired by others' little secret acts of kindness, PostSecret is an ongoing community art project where people mail in their secrets anonymously on one side of a postcard.
A History of the World was a partnership between the BBC and the British Museum, involving schools, museums and audiences across the UK. One can listen to and download all the episodes of the radio series A History of the World in 100 objects.
One hundred 15-minute programmes, each focusing on an object from the British Museum’s collection told a history of two million years of humanity through the objects we have made, starting with the earliest object in the museum’s collection.
My personal highlights included the following:
1. Mummy of Hornedjitef (-260BC, Egypt): status, legacy, journey beyond death (see image).
2. Olduval Chopping Tool (-2m, Tanzania): adaptable, can skin and butcher animals
The multimedia series, Invitation to World Literature, offers an interactive journey through 13 classic works from a range of eras, places, cultures, languages, and traditions
Many evenings of my youth were spent listening to Radio Caroline's "Personal Top 30s", from 6-9pm and 9pm-midnight on Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings. My friends and I would write down, swap, be inspired by and gently criticise each others' choices, but none of us ever got round to posting ours in, and our chance vanished into the North Sea with the Mi Amigo in March 1980.
However, since 2008 I have listened almost constantly to Caroline, which plays "Personal Top 15s" every weekday at 10am CET, but again, I've not summoned the nerve to send mine in.
To commemorate the 125th anniversary of Vincent van Gogh’s death, the artist’s birthplace of Zundert, a small town in the Netherlands near the Belgian border, dedicated its annual flower parade to his work and art.
Meanwhile, Van Gogh's paintings have been brought to life using 3D animation and visual mapping by Luca Agnani Studio.