Diligence and the Old Masters

A venerable artist of the old school, Leon Kossoff has an unfashionably strong commitment to the physicality of paint and the virtuousness of drawing. You'll find these admirable qualities aplenty in this show. Many works are based on glorious Old Master paintings from the National Gallery's own collection; Kossoff has diligently drawn and copied these over his long lifetime, and showing him among them makes complete sense. On the debit side, Kossof's dogged integrity isn't necessarily the same as always producing great art and, despite the sensitive colouring and moving humility of his work, he can manifest an almost heroically absurd incompetence. But this is still well worth a look. Neal Brown

Leon Kossoff: Drawing from painting, March 14 to July 1, The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square WC2, 0207 747 2885