Voces del Prado

By the time the exhibition starts, I’ve already finished

Pedro Álvarez Moreno, Head of the Area of Works and Maintenance, 1994-2009

If a museum requires 100 square metres, 50 of those are display space and the rest is what allows the exhibition to happen. For those 50 to be there, for the exhibitions to take place and for people to be able to come and enjoy them you need to carry out immediately prior , daily and continual work. This is work that relates to lighting, cleaning, climate control (very important for the paintings), as well as particular jobs that have to be done: the floors get damaged, you have to paint the walls, make the stretchers, etc. There are a large number of things that have to be done prior to what goes on display. I always said: “By the time the exhibition starts, I’ve already finished.”
I remember, for example, the exhibition on Dürer [2005]. It was really complicated as the works coming from abroad needed lighting levels of 18 or 20 lux, which was very difficult to achieve. So that’s why I say that the conditions vary a great deal in relation to what will be on display. It’s a job that no one notices and it’s essential but not appreciated. I don’t mean with regard to me personally but I mean the forty people working to make this possible every day.