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I was really happy with these years at the Museo del Prado, but then I departed for London to take over as Director of the National Gallery. There are other things that I would have liked to do, but there was no time. I would have liked to complete the reorganisation of the collections, since two important tasks remained: the Flemish halls on the second floor corresponding to the seventeenth century; and the Flemish Primitives, as they are known, ranging from Van der Weyden to Bosch. Those were the essential parts that remained to be reorganised. I would have liked to complete the job, although it’s just a small example of vanity. As for the rest, I think we achieved a great deal. One of my ambitions for the Museum was for its academic activity to become more visible. I think this has been achieved in the exhibitions, in the publications we have produced and in the symposiums that were staged in collaboration with the Education Department. The creation of the Studies Centre, which is where we are sitting right now, also represents an important step forward and reflects the Museum’s academic ambitions. We have been able to create the Prado Chair and the seminars. I think there is still a great deal of work to do, but at least the foundations have been laid, and that has brought me a great deal of satisfaction.
I think another pending issue at the Museum is training; on the one hand, at an internal level so that our specialists have the opportunity to enhance their knowledge through courses, trips, collaborative projects and stays; on the other hand, we must offer training outside, within the university realm above all, in order to ensure the training of future museum workers, restorers and curators. I believe we have a truly important resource here at the Museum for all of them: our Studies Centre. Little by little, we must gradually lay the foundations for the Museum to be able to fulfil this commitment and this vocation to train future generations of museum specialists and art historians.
Assistant Director of Conservation and Research at the Museum from 2002 to 2015, year in which he was appointed director of The National Gallery in London. At the Museo del Prado he assumed responsibility for the collections, research projects, restoration projects and exhibitions related to the same.
Interview recorded on July 30, 2015
