Voces del Prado

Two Cases: Christ Crucified and The Spinners by Velázquez

Rocío Dávila Álvarez, Restorer, 1974-2015

Amongst the well-known works that I have restored I would mention Christ Crucified by Velázquez. It was a legendary work because it was so black and so dark. Then that green background appeared. It’s a painting that I really loved restoring. But I’ve loved many other pictures that are less important. What can I say? I love my job. If I have to do The Spinners, then I’m just delighted. But if I have to do the most humble canvas in the Museum, well I’m also delighted to restore it. And for a number of reasons I’ve nearly always been given pictures that were in a poor condition. Others no, because I’ve done some real gems. I’m not just talking about works of art or Velázquez paintings, but preservation works. However, I’ve had many pictures that were in quite a precarious condition and I’ve pulled them through. I loved that. It’s as if they ask you to choose a favourite child, “Which one would you like to keep?” I don’t know! I love them all! When I’m working on a picture, at the time it’s the best picture of all. When you finish you always have the feeling that there’s something more you could’ve done. But I just turn a page and get on with the next one.
The Spinners was the first important picture that gave me problems. I remember going down to the hall with the Museum Director, who was don Xavier de Salas at the time. The painting was losing small particles of colour because the painting had last been lined many years before. The pictorial layer had not adhered to the new canvas, the lining, very well. The Director didn’t dare undertake a restoration with this kind of problem. When they finally decided to embark on the restoration of The Spinners, which I undertook with my sister, Mayte Dávila, it was a really difficult job because we were working at a microscopic level. We corrected the painting craquelure by craquelure. It was a really beautiful restoration to carry out, because it meant saving the painting.