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We rely on readers like you to fund our journalism. If you value our coverage and want to support more of it, consider supporting us as a member. Join Us CAMBRIDGE — This past summer, the Olympic Games took place in Paris.
Paris 1924: Sport, Art and the Body at the Fitzwilliam Museum reminds us that they were in the city 100 years ago too, in an unlovely suburb, where the main stadium was sited next to a pumping station (something that images of the time often did their best to disguise). This exhibition is more than a dull exercise in documentation, though it does feel under-energized, and almost dutiful, for a good portion of the way through. In fact, you might wonder whether the show is about dash, speed, verve, and athletic physique at all.
Much of the stuff is displayed in the kinds of boxy, glazed cabinets that reek of antiquated museum habits. Far too many medals, bits of old ribbon, old programs, and old pho.