Voces del Prado

A non-existent press department

Francisco Calvo Serraller, Museum Director, 1993-1994

The Museum’s communication network? If there were no curators, no restorers, no cleaners and we had a problem with the attendants, the press service was a retired individual. This was a channel we could make little use of, because we simply didn’t have the means. In reality, you had to do it all yourself. But obviously, however hard you work, that is practically impossible.
An apparently enthusiastic TV report came out on some channel, I can’t remember which, announcing the 175th Anniversary exhibitions. The voiceover of a highly enthusiastic journalist was saying something about the staging of the exhibitions, including La Tour, Goya, etc. … There was also an exhibition about Sebastiano del Piombo. And then, with utter horror, I heard the voice say, "And there’s also an exhibition about Salustiano del Campo". I can understand that there’s no reason why everyone should have heard of Sebastiano del Piombo, but if you don’t know him, look him up at least! Don’t just say the first name that comes into your head! This combination of apparent respect and enthusiasm is illustrative. But, at the end of the day, it demonstrated a complete lack of knowledge of the Museum.