Voces del Prado

1997-1999: The Old Room XII and Las Meninas

Conchi Montero Velasco, General Services Assistant, 1970-2014

In Room 12 there was a flight of stairs with some banisters. When you were in Room 12 you could see the ground floor and that was where the Events Hall was located. Las Meninas wasn’t hung there yet, because it was in Room 14. Room 14 was really lovely because it housed Las Meninas, with two long red curtains framing a doorway. And on the sides there were two really beautiful mirrors in which you could see reflections of Las Meninas. The same as occurs today when groups set up a mirror. Room 14 wasn’t a very big room, which meant that the general public had to enter little by little, because only so many people could fit. They only let in four or five people at a time, because there was no room for more. This meant that, when you entered with five or six people, you had the picture to yourself. You could see the painting’s figures as if they were right on top of you. Then you looked on the sides, in the mirrors, and you could see the reflections of the painting. It was just beautiful. In fact, when they moved the painting to Room 12, I got the impression that the picture was a little lost. We’d got used to seeing it like it was before. At first, I regarded Las Meninas in Room 12 as if it were just another picture, given that the hall is very large. And, as I’ve said, in the other room it was really beautiful because you only contemplated one painting there.