Voces del Prado

The 1940’s: The Beginnings of the Photography Laboratory

Carlos Manso Manso, General Operations Service Technician (Photographer), 1953-1999

You couldn’t have a Photography Laboratory inside the Museum. You had to respect the Museum’s opening times and if you had to work longer hours and the Museum was closed, well that was a problem. Initially, the Laboratory was set up in a series of small rooms. Later on, they decided to create something more complete. They ordered the machinery from Paris, because there was no decent photography equipment in Spain. From Paris they sent over some photographic apparatus, consisting of a series of huge wooden machines, the equipment that was used at that time. That’s how everything began.
Later on, the Laboratory was set up in one of the residential pavilions located close to the Jerónimos Entrance. There were two floors and four flats on each floor. The Caretaker and Deputy Caretaker lived there. The Laboratory took up the other two apartments. In the beginning, it only occupied one apartment, but then it spread to the second. It was spacious and we were very happy there. That’s where the Laboratory was located for 35 years.