Visitors to the V&A’s Donatello: Sculpting the Renaissance are greeted by a young David standing proudly with the head of Goliath at his feet. As a symbol of the city of Florence and commissioned originally for the Cathedral – only to be quickly repurposed as a civic emblem for the Palazzo della Signoria – the statue perfectly introduces us to Donatello placed at the heart of Florentine self-image.

There are two stories to this exhibition, then, or perhaps even three. The first is the legend of the Minotaur itself, which continues to fascinate and terrify even after all this time. The second is that of Sir Arthur Evans, bungling and brilliant, with his important if controversial excavation of Knossos and his interpretation of its secrets. The third is the one that perhaps I want to engage with least of all: Theseus in the labyrinth pursued by the beast, with all its metaphorical application to my own life as I stumble through my personal maze. Does the Minotaur presage the roaring lion of Compline, who “walketh about, seeking whom he may devour” – and if so, where is my saving piece of string secured, and to what, or to whom?

Simon Caldwell on ‘Hot Holy Ladies’, an exhibition exploring the stories of English Catholic women who defied persecution

Less than a year after a major refurbishment, the Courtauld Gallery has already had exhibitions of two of the biggest names in early modern art. There’s not much to rival Vincent van Gogh or Edvard Munch for raw power. Pieter Bruegel the Elder might have the same name recognition, but the nature of his work

The British Museum’s handsome Nero show burnishes his legacy but glosses over his treatment of Christians.

The British Museum’s dazzling survey of the life and legacy of the cult 12th-century saint Thomas Becket is set to be an unlikely summer blockbuster, reports Guy Hayward

The 15th-century doll was found amid rubble after an earthquake last year

The focus of the exhibition, opening in May, will be the menorah