The Arts

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AZTECS A meticulous reconstruction of the 14th-century Templo Mayor, perhaps the greatest of Aztec monuments, forms the heart of one of the most ambitious exhibitions ever staged at London's Royal Academy. More than 350 treasures, many seen for the first time outside Mexico, include exquisite turquoise mosaics, monumental sculptures and the pictorial manuscripts the Aztecs used to record their history. Other elements of Aztec belief--like the human sacrifices that, according to the Spanish, made the temple reek of blood--are left to the imagination. The Royal Academy of Arts, London, Nov. 16-April 11.

GAINSBOROUGH

Tremulous dark forests, lustrous socialites dripping jewels, and children chasing butterflies are among the vibrant images that fill Thomas Gainsborough's work. The 18th-century English painter built his worldwide reputation on accessible, rather sentimental portraits. Yet, as the show demonstrates, his work was also highly original and intellectually rewarding. The …