On the website of the Rijksmuseum, the blockbuster exhibition on Johannes Vermeer (10 February – 4 June 2023) is branded “the largest exhibition ever”. However, visitors’ hopes are soon dashed by a note informing them the show is sold out. “All of Vermeer’s works can still be admired via the online discovery tour,” the homepage volunteers.
Often monographic, blockbuster exhibitions typically bring together a single artist’s iconic works, achieving record attendance thanks to a new value proposition. They are spectacular exhibitions with flamboyant scenographies that target mainly occasional visitors.
In terms of attendance, they represent an undeniable success. In France, the last exhibition of this type at the Musée d’Orsay, which ended on 22 January (Munch: A Poem of Life, Love and Death) broke the institution’s attendance record with 720,000 visitors in four months. Some other French blockbuster examples are Tutankhamun, the Pharaoh’s Treasure at the Grande Halle de la Villette with 1.4 million visitors in 2019; Leonardo da Vinci at the Louvre: 1.1 million visitors in 2020; The Morozov Collection: Icons of Modern Art at the Fondation Louis Vuitton: 1.2 million visitors in 2022.
