• A painting of early Christian martyr Saint Agatha by 17th century Italian artist Carlo Dolci is the highlight of a new exhibition opening at Osterley House in London’s west on Monday. The painting, which has been acquired by the National Trust for the house thanks to an Art Fund grant and other donations, is at the heart of Treasures of Osterley –  Rise of a Banking Family which explores the rise to fame and fortune of the Child family. Sir Robert Child had originally purchased the picture at the start of the 18th century but it was later sold with other family heirlooms in the 1930s. The painting depicts the miraculous moment with St Peter appeared to St Agatha in a vision and healed her wounds. The exhibition can be seen until 23rd February. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.nationaltrust.org.uk/osterley-park-and-house.

• The first exhibition to focus on the “visceral and unflinching” self-portraits of artist Lucian Freud (1922-2011) has opened at the Royal Academy in Piccadilly. Lucian Freud: The Self-portraits features about 50 works that chart his artistic development from early graphic works to the fleshy, painterly style of his later work. The display is organised into six sections, starting with first major self-portrait, Man with a Feather (1943), which is juxtaposed with his late work, Self-portrait, Reflection (2000). It ends with two self-portraits he painted in 2002 and 2003. The exhibition can be seen in The Jillian and Arthur M Sackler Wing of Galleries until 26th January. Admission charge applies. For more, see www.royalacademy.org.uk. PICTURE: Reflection (Self-portrait), 1985 Oil on canvas, 55.9 x 55.3 cm Private collection, on loan to the Irish Museum of Modern Art © The Lucian Freud Archive / Bridgeman Images

• On Now: Sir Stamford Raffles: collecting in Southeast Asia 1811-1824. Controversial figure Sir Thomas Stamford Raffles spent most of his career as an official with the East India Company in South-East Asia during which he was an avid collector of objects from the region. His collection, one of the first large collections from the region, was eventually donated to the British Museum. This display at the museum showcases an important selection of 130 objects from that collection including Hindu-Buddhist antiquities, different types of theatrical puppets, masks, musical instruments and stone and metal sculpture. A collaboration with Asian Civilisations Museum in Singapore, the exhibition can be seen until 12th January in Room 91. It’s free to enter. For more, see www.britishmuseum.org.

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