Voces del Prado

Collaboration in Order to Further Our Knowledge

Rafael Alonso Alonso, Restorer, 1978-2016

My colleagues and I continue to work with the idea that we must gain an ever-deeper knowledge and understanding of the works. From my point of view, the historian has a great knowledge of documents, images and iconography. However, the restorer has a knowledge of the pictorial matter, because he has worked directly with it, whilst the technical department supports us and gives us some extremely important information. We cannot do without any of these three parts if we really to want to get to know a painter, his career and a series of work in particular. This kind of collaboration is essential. The Head of the Restoration Workshop in Prague, who was also working at the Museo del Prado, highlighted this point: sharing information and working as a team, and in such a generous manner as can be witnessed at the Prado … well, that’s something that he had never seen at any other museum in Europe. The more generous you are, the more generous people are with you. I am delighted to be able to enhance my knowledge through the people I have around me. But it’s not just a personal thing; it’s the way in which things are done at the Museo del Prado.