Hyperbole inevitably provokes a cynical response. Far too many art exhibitions proclaim themselves “a once-in-a-lifetime show,” dare you to “miss at your peril,” and any number of superlative endorsements. Thus, I was on guard for the National Gallery’s new Van Gogh show, “Poets and Lovers,” which it is promoting as something even greater: a “once-in-a-century exhibition,” no less. The preopening reviews are no less effulgent, with five-star reviews repeating that this is the National Gallery’s event of the epoch: The Guardian praises it as “heart-stopping” and “dazzling”; Time Out calls it “mesmerizing”. This time, however, it is safe to believe the hype.
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