January at the Ashmolean

"A magical journey through Islamic art"   The Guardian "A glittering show"   The Times Last chance to see more than a hundred spectacular objects from Morocco to China in the first major exhibition to explore the supernatural in the art of the Islamic world. The exhibition ends next Sunday 15 January. This is an unmissable opportunity to see objects of breathtaking quality and astonishing scale, many of which have never been seen in public. Find out more & Book online Become a member Book Now Opens 10 February In works by Matisse, Manet, Chagall, Renoir, Metzinger, Degas, Léger and Picasso, this ground-breaking exhibition will tell one of the most compelling stories in the history of art – the rise of Modernism. Book your tickets Linguamania Friday 27 January 7–10.30pm Immerse yourself in a multilingual world of music, theatre, language tasters & interactive art. Awaken your inner linguist at our January LiveFriday! Tickets are FREE, but booking is required. Book your FREE tickets Become a Member in 2017 Buy Online Ashmolean Members get in FREE to all exhibitions – including Degas to Picasso and Raphael The Drawings in 2017 – and enjoy a range of benefits and behind-the-scenes activities. Find out more Come and see the first large Viking hoard discovered in Oxfordshire, now on display in our England Gallery. Containing more than 200 Anglo-Saxon coins the hoard dates from the end of the 870s, a key moment in the struggle between Anglo-Saxons and Vikings for control of southern England. You can now help us raise the remaining funds to save the Watlington hoard and keep it in the heart of the region in which it was discovered. Find out more

January Talks, Tours and Workshops Join us this month to discover fantasy and chivalry in Pre-Raphaelite art, Constable's dramatic skies, Japanese publishing phenomenon Hokusai, the importance of dining and drinking in ancient Italy, and much more. Find out more At The British Museum South Africa: the art of a nation Until 26 February 2017 From some of the world’s oldest art to cutting-edge contemporary works, discover the rich history of South Africa through an incredible 100,000 years of art in the British Museum’s new special exhibition. Find out more New Year Book & Print Sale Visit the Ashmolean's third floor shop on Tuesday 17 & Wednesday 18 January to find mountains of beautiful books and prints at fantastically reduced prices.  All regular discounts will apply on top of sale prices, so don't miss out! Find out more At the Royal Shakespeare Company ROME MMXVII Season Step into Rome in 2017 with the Royal Shakespeare Company’s epic ROME season of plays. Season opens with Julius Caesar from 3 March, continuing with Antony & Cleopatra from 11 March. Tickets from £16. Find out more

Rembrandt's First Paintings, Marcus du Sautoy, Half-Term Family Fun & Islamic Art at the Ashmolean Museum

Plan Your Visit | Support Us Eating & Drinking | Shop | Venue Hire   Sensation Rembrandt's First Paintings This new free display of Rembrandt's four earliest paintings reunites them for the first time in public after one was rediscovered in 2015. Hearing, Touch, Smell and Sight are the four surviving panels from Rembrandt's Five Senses series, created around 1624–5 when the artist was just 18. The free display is open until 27 November.   Power and Protection Islamic Art and the Supernatural Showcasing over a hundred spectacular objects from Morocco to China, this is the first major exhibition to explore the supernatural in the art of the Islamic world. The exhibition opens on 20 October. Book online today. This is an unmissable chance to see objects of stunning beauty and craftmanship many of which have never before been seen in public.       Liu Dan Free Display from 20 October Liu Dan is one of China's leading artists, at the forefront of the generation of painters who have been working in radically new ways in the traditional medium of ink.   One Portrait: Many Views Watch our new video Following our 2012 campaign to save Manet's Portrait of Mademoiselle Claus for the public, a whole programme of outreach events and activity was programmed that would otherwise not have been possible without Heritage Lottery Fund support. Half-Term Family Fun Big Draw Diwali, 26–27 October Join us for a celebration of Diwali and the Big Draw at half-term. Create Rangoli patterns, make a clay Diwali lamp, sketch in the India galleries, and listen to Diwali stories. Free, and all ages welcome.   Professor Marcus du Sautoy Exhibition Talk: Symmetry, 29 November The tiles of the Islamic world push the ideas of symmetry to their extremes. Professor du Sautoy offers a new way to read the walls of the palaces and mosques of the Islamic world. Booking is essential.   What's On October 2016 Join us this month to try silverpoint, explore faith and superstition, and much more.       FrightFriday Book Now Explore ghosts and ghouls after dark with music, talks, performance and more.   Rembrandt's Senses Special Talk, Saturday 29 October Professor Christopher Brown looks at Rembrandt's earliest paintings. Painted when the artist was just 18, they depict Sight, Touch, Hearing and Smell. The fifth – Taste – remains undiscovered to this day.   Clay Live Shozo Michikawa & Kate Malone Shozo Michikawa talks about his life as a potter and demonstrates his techniques, and Kate Malone, judge on BBC Two's The Great Pottery Throwdown, discusses the pleasures of a life devoted to ceramics. Christmas Cards Buy Online and at the Museum Visit our shop, online and at the Museum, to find a range of Christmas cards, decorations and gifts inspired by the Ashmolean Museum's collections, as well as books, prints, games, jewellery and more.   Wedding Venue Open Day Sunday 16 October Discover more about hosting your wedding at the Ashmolean. Our experienced team will be on hand to answer your questions and to show you the Museum's countless backdrops. Final Weeks All Must Have Prizes 1750–1850 This free display of medals and prizes from the mid-eighteenth century tells us about the ideals of personal and professional improvement through competition during the time in which they were made.   Last Chance To See Monkey Tales, until 30 October To celebrate the Year of the Monkey in 2016 this special free display showcases papercuts, woodblock prints and lithographs of adventurous and mischievous monkeys from Iran to Japan. At Dulwich Picture Gallery Adriaen van de Velde, until 15 January Dulwich Picture Gallery presents the world's first major exhibition devoted to one of the finest landscape artists of the Dutch Golden Age, Adriaen van de Velde (1636–1672). Opens 12 October.   At The Ultimate Picture Palace The First Monday In May This documentary follows the creation of The Metropolitan Museum of Art's most attended fashion exhibition in history, "China: Through The Looking Glass". Showing on Sunday 13 & Thursday 17 November.