Evening Standard

The hottest show in town? Why Caravaggio needs crowd control at the National Gallery

Source: Yui Mok/PA Wire

The buzziest new show in central London does not involve a Hollywood star treading the West End boards, or a glitzy blockbuster premiere in Leicester Square. Instead, somewhat surprisingly, it’s a dark room with two paintings in the National Gallery.

I was there on Thursday and couldn’t believe my eyes as queues snaked out of Room One of the Trafalgar Square site and down the stairs, while high vis-sporting staff were on hand for crowd control (well, maintaining an orderly queue – this is the National Gallery after all).

is proving the most popular small-scale show

You’re reading a preview, subscribe to read more.

More from Evening Standard

Evening Standard2 min read
Peer Set To Be Banned From Parliament’s Bars For Year After Drunken Outburst
A Conservative peer is set to be banned from House of Lords bars for a year after he was found to have bullied and harassed two people while drunk. The House of Lords Conduct Committee recommended that Lord Kulveer Ranger also be suspended from the H
Evening Standard8 min read
The Best Villas To Book In Europe — With Sensational Pools
Long afternoons flicking through the sun-cracked pages of a novel, poolside; al fresco dinners rustled together from local market jaunts; endless games of cards into the still evening, always to a lazy cicada chorus. There is nothing quite like a Med
Evening Standard2 min readDiscrimination & Race Relations
Rouen: Police Shoot Dead Armed Man Attempting To Set Fire To Synagogue In Northern France
French police in Rouen shot dead an armed man who attempted to set fire to the city's synagogue, Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin and local officials said on Friday. The incident happened in central Rouen, 80 miles northwest of Paris, early on Frida

Related Books & Audiobooks