Voces del Prado

The New Acquisitions Policy: The Countess of Chinchón by Goya

Fernando Checa Cremades, Museum Director, 1996-2001

When I arrived at the Museo del Prado, the Museum had just purchased Goya’s The Witches’ Flight (Vuelo de brujas) and Self-Portrait in the Studio (Autorretrato en el estudio) by Luis Paret y Alcázar, which was purchased by the Friends of the Prado Museum Foundation. When I left, the last acquisition was Goya’s Saint Barbara (Santa Bárbara), which I believe it was his first painting, as well as the oldest painting in the collection. In between, the Museum acquired The Countess of Chinchón, which is obviously a key work. In fact, it was the most sought-after work of all. Amongst the specific collections at the Museo del Prado, traditionally there were a number of lists of the works that the Museum wanted to acquire, and the painting that always appeared at the top of those lists was The Countess of Chinchón. I was lucky enough to be at the Museum at the time. If I remember correctly, that painting was acquired for four billion pesetas, two billion of which came from the Villaescusa legacy, which was an important legacy for the Museum, with the other two billion being provided by the State. And that was undoubtedly our best purchase. The acquisition policy at that time didn’t consist of buying less important works. We focused on acquiring fewer works that were highly important, so that they could be exhibited. Which is to say, the acquired works didn’t go straight into the storerooms, which is what happens with interesting works that are less important.