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When we arrived at the Museum, there was practically no established programme. Exhibitions had been staged on an occasional basis, but they had come from outside or had been exhibitions organised directly by the Director. We thought it was important to promote a greater degree of involvement on the part of the Museum’s curators, which meant that they could propose exhibitions and take responsibility in terms of heading them.
There was an atmosphere of excitement throughout the Museum, a strong sense of enthusiasm, a desire to undertake new and ambitious projects. We had an initial doubt; or at least I raised a doubt: given that the year 2002 expansion had just begun, it was due to be inaugurated in around 2005. So one approach might be: “Look, let’s wait until we have the extension ready, because then we will have a specific space for exhibitions; let’s wait until we have it, although we can already start planning the exhibition programme”. Miguel Zugaza didn’t agree. He said: “No, we have to set the programme in motion now, because the exhibition programme is useful for many things”. He didn’t say so, but secretly I think he had doubts as to whether the expansion would be ready by 2005. You’ll remember that we also had a change of Government, which led to a halt in construction, which meant that, in the end, the new extension didn’t open until the end of 2007.
That is to say, between 2002 and 2007 some five years of exhibition activity took place by making use of the Villanueva Building, effectively using areas normally occupied by the Permanent Collection. This entailed a constant movement of works and an ongoing change of halls. Many exhibitions were staged in the Main Gallery, which was an absolutely spectacular space. It was there that we staged our exhibitions on Titian, on Tintoretto and on the “Palace of the Planet King”, the exhibition we held in 2005 to celebrate the Fourth Centenary of the Birth of Philip IV.
This entailed the movement of works and some truly impressive logistical procedures. I sincerely believe that very few museums throughout the world would have been able to do what we did in those years. There was an enormous desire within society for the Museo del Prado to roar like the true lion it really was. We used the image of a sleeping lion that had to rise, wake up and roar, and I believe the exhibition programme helped us to do just that, because exhibitions entail a great effort on the part of the Museum, bringing together all of the departments involved. It means working together in a modern and integrated manner; it requires contact with institutions on the outside; and it requires the implementation of a fundraising programme to bring the projects to fruition. It also requires a huge communication effort, in which respect the exhibition programme served as an ideal tool with which to help the Museum take an important step forward.
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
