12 MARCH 1927, Page 3

The extraordinary success of the exhibition of Flemish pictures which

was closed last Saturday has been one of the most significant artistic events of our generation. The throng was so great that it was very difficult to see the pictures in comfort. For the last few days the exhibition was opened an hour earlier, and even then there were crowds waiting to go in. No past experience would have justified the expectation that there would be such a rush to see these pictures. Few of them came within the class that would be generally called popular. One of the most striking facts, indeed, was that the congestion was greatest in those rooms where the less " popular " pictures were hung. Van Eyck was a greater " draw " than Van Dyck.