Voces del Prado

A Shared Project

Mercedes Orihuela Maeso, Conservator of the Service of Deposits, 1975-What's on

When I joined the Museum, there was quite a family atmosphere here. There weren’t that many people and we all got on quite well. And I’m not just referring to the specialists, but also the hall supervisors, the restorers and members of the management. We had a shared project and everybody, according to their possibilities and duties, contributed to that project. There we very few of us. Most of the staff at that time were hall supervisors, which we called guards. There was also cafeteria staff, although the cafeteria was privatised later on. There were no sub-contractors for any of the services, so everything was carried out by Museum staff. Even the cleaning ladies were on the Museum staff. So very few people did all kinds of things, and they did so with considerable interest and affection towards the Museum. The Museum could permit itself to cultivate this kind of family atmosphere, because those were different times. Now it would be impossible, of course. At that time it was possible, but today it would be unthinkable.