Voces del Prado

The Prado, a marvellous school

Ana Gutiérrez Márquez, Senior Technician of Museums (Conservation of 19th Century Painting), 1975-2018

I’m Ana Gutiérrez and I’ve worked at the Prado since 1973. I’ve always been associated with the Casón del Buen Retiro. I’ve always worked in the Department of 19th-century Painting, so if I’ve got a story to tell it’s almost entirely about the Casón.
I arrived to do work experience shortly after graduating. I finished in June and in September I wrote to the head of the 19th-century department to see if I could do work experience here. For two main reasons. Firstly because it was an obligatory requirement in order to be able to sit the exam for museum curators. And secondly for my own benefit, as it seemed to me that the Prado could be a marvellous school for learning about museology. So I effectively entered the Museum. My first tasks were very important as they taught me to catalogue, to see what a work is from a curatorial viewpoint, aspects that you practically never see in a university degree. I was absolutely captivated by it.
One of the most important tasks, which we’re still benefiting from today, was preparing a summary of all the painters who participated in the National Exhibitions over the course of 100 years. This was an extremely important project for me and made me - if I had any doubts - definitely decide to dedicate myself to the world of museums. I really realised what a good project of documentation and historical research could be ... A project that related not so much to the conservation of the paintings as to their history and to research about them.