The art world's exhibition schedule seldom contains cliffhangers. This season, though, begins with one. First it was on, then it was off. Now it seems "From Russia: French and Russian Master Paintings 1870-1925" is again due at the Royal Academy in London from Jan. 26 to April 18. This is a grand survey show, including one of the monuments of 20th-century art in Matisse's "The Dance" plus masterpieces by Van Gogh, Gauguin, Cezanne and Renoir as well as plenty of works by their avant-garde Russian contemporaries. If it does indeed go ahead, this will be the show of spring in London. The draw will be the great French paintings. Museums in St. Petersburg and Moscow have the cream of early Matisse and much of the best Gauguin, all seized after the 1917 revolution. That's the source of this little brouhaha: The heirs of their ex-owners are still trying to get them back. But were Putin and the government really worried that they might succeed, or were they simply flexing some cultural muscle? Apart from this Cold War thriller, the London spring is looking low-key. The blockbusters are mainly elsewhere. In Paris, the Louvre hosts "Babylon" (March 14-June 2, and coming to the British Museum in the autumn). This examination of an ancient Iraqi civilization is poignantly timely, because few tour groups will be visiting the actual site in the near future. In any case, Saddam Hussein rebuilt much of it in his own inimitable taste. Barbarians in Venice In Venice, the Palazzo Grassi -- now mainly given over to the contemporary art collection of Francois Pinault -- returns to the kind of archaeological extravaganza it used to serve up in past years. "Rome and the Barbarians: the Birth of the New World" (Jan. 26-July 20) has 1,000 exhibits, 13 sections and a fascinating theme: how antiquity morphed into the Middle Ages. Back in London, at Tate Britain the main attraction will be "Modern Painters: The Camden Town Group"(Feb. 13-May 4). This will provide a lot of pleasantly dingy Edwardian post- impressionism, with Walter Sickert as the star. It isn't clear whether these minor artists will sustain a major exhibition, or equal "Hogarth"' -- last year's hit -- as a crowd puller. Also at Tate Britain, "Peter Doig"(Feb. 5-April 27) will offer a chance to assess a painter whose "White Canoe" fetched $11.3 million last year at auction (and of whom Charles Saatchi is a big fan). So far, Doig doesn't have a high public profile. Will he become a true art star as well as a market favorite? Dada on Display The big show at Tate Modern will be "Duchamp, Man Ray, Picabia"(Feb. 21-May 26), which may be fascinating, but is potentially dry. There's something paradoxical about a Dada spectacular. Duchamp, especially, tends to be more fun to think about than look at. Still, this will be a major show about important art history. The other offering at Tate Modern, "Juan Munoz: A Retrospective"(Jan. 24-April 27), is in the specialized-interest category. Munoz was the star sculptor of Spain in the 1990s, yet sadly, he died young. This is a chance to reassess his work, though it must be said that his Turbine Hall piece was the least attention-grabbing effort at that difficult commission to date. There's big-league modernism at the wonderful, Renzo Piano- designed Fondation Beyeler outside Basel. "Action Painting" (Jan. 27-May 12) considers abstract expressionism by another name, though with a wider, more European slant than usual. Among photography shows, the National Portrait Gallery in London has one with box-office potential: "Vanity Fair Portraits: Photographs 1913-2008"(Feb. 14-May 26). This includes many famous people, filmed by celebrated photographers. The most unexpected Vanity Fair subject: Claude Monet. The Hayward has the less glitzy "Alexander Rodchenko: A Revolution in Photography"(Feb. 7-April 27) an exhibition of camera work by the early Russian modernist -- expect strong design and surprising angles. Erotic Master In the old-master department, London's Royal Academy is offering "Lucas Cranach the Elder"(March 8-June 8), the sinuously erotic painter of the German reformation. Cranach was good at minxy nudes and overweight Saxon rulers but later in life ran a cottage industry, in which his sons and assistants turned out Cranachs. This show will need to be carefully curated. The National Gallery has "Pompeo Batoni (1708-1787)" (Feb. 20-May 18). Expect plenty of 18th-century tourists looking smugly grand. The effect may be fun, or just a lot of pompous Batoni. Dulwich Picture Gallery has come up with a strange idea: an entire exhibition of pictures of St. Sebastian, shot full of arrows, all by the 17th-century Italian artist Guido Reni. The show has a nice title: "The Agony and the Ecstasy" (Feb. 5-May 11). The late Derek Jarman, who made a film about the subject -- with lots of nude men and Latin dialogue -- would have loved this. Jarman himself is the subject of a retrospective at the Serpentine, organized by the contemporary artist Isaac Julien (Feb. 23-April 13). Another chance to reassess, but not I suspect alter the idea that Jarman was a bad filmmaker, and a worse painter, though an excellent garden designer.