The Bard represents a deeper idea. The old prophet - the last crumbling bastion of an antediluvian way of thinking - madly attempting to stem the current of an England representing order and progress at the expense of older values. In vain does he challenge the monotonous and inevitable advance of the English army.

Beneath the shimmering surface lies a deep and often murky world of introspection, privacy and contemplation. We are, I would suggest, looking into the minds of artists inhabiting a world which was deeply engrossed in self-analysis and thought.

Tate Modern until 11 March 2012 In 1936 Charlie Chaplin appeared in his iconic film Modern Times. Amidst the repetitive tedium of the assembly line, ...

Leaving the Gerhard Richter exhibition at the Tate, one is greeted by a similar sense of uncertainty. It's interesting to note that Richter himself acknowledged the influence of Vermeer's work Girl Reading Letter at an Open Window in his 1994 piece Reader