A place to dream

As regular readers of this column will know, I am not an admirer of large exhibitions. The exhaustive is exhausting, and I refuse to believe that the general visitor can absorb the contents of a blockbuster show on a single viewing. Of course in these days of enforced leisure, more and more viewers are able to return to exhibitions (particularly if mounted by institutions of which they are members), though the time and expense involved deters those with jobs from making repeated visits. Vast exhibitions are designed to bring glory on the host museum and garner headlines as well as visitor numbers. The sheer size of them is supposed to convince ticket-buyers that they’re getting their money’s worth, but often they are left with a blurred impression of what they’ve seen rather than a coherent account. This is hardly a satisfactory outcome. However, there are exceptions.

There is always room for the truly spectacular, and the current Diaghilev show at the V&A is a splendid example of ostentatious display that actually works.