When Is a Blockbuster Not a Blockbuster?

When its entrance, on the afternoon of its public opening, looks like this:

Before I arrived at the Renoir Landscapes show at the Philadelphia Museum on Thursday afternoon, I had the same mob-scene expectations as were suggested by Roberta Smith‘s NY Times review, published the next day (but based on her visit before the public opening):
The Philadelphia Museum of Art isn’t expecting fights at “Renoir Landscapes: 1865-1883,” at least not beyond the usual jockeying for space among adoring fans. The tickets are timed, and stanchions are at the ready.
But there was, in fact, no jockeying for space among the well-spaced attendees on opening afternoon, and the stanchions, as you can see from my photo, were completely unnecessary. There was definitely no need for timed tickets.
And while this show was well worth seeing, it did not, for me, quite live up to Roberta’s rave.
But that’s a subject, perhaps, for a later post.