Voces del Prado

Joaquín Rodrigo. In spite of his being blind, he loved painting

María Merino Cabrera, Clerical Support, 1977-2004

When special visitors came to see the Museum it was usually on a Monday, the day when it was closed to the public. They had to be accompanied and I was nearly always the person taking them around to see whatever they wanted to see.
For instance, Maestro Rodrigo usually came with his wife. He was blind and almost always came along with her, and I would ask them, "Where do you want to go today?" "Murillo," so I took them to the Murillo hall. Since the Museum was empty it was mandatory that they be accompanied. And I could see how she explained the colours to him. He had lost his eyesight at the age of 4 or 5 years, but he did remember the colours. She would also explain the position of the figures on the painting. Even I learned things from this.
He could be shown Goya, Murillo or Velázquez. He enjoyed all paintings, painting in general.