Hello,

Last summer I visited the Prado Museum and took some photos there. There was no problem at all taking photos of the paintings there as long as you had the flash turned off (Some Japanese tourist even shot with flash on!!!).

Today I visited the Prado again. I wanted to see Goya's "Fusilamientos del 3 de Mayo" that had been temporarily at the Reina Sofia Museum. To my surprise today visitors were not allowed to take any photos even with the flash off.
Does anybody know why? Perhaps they got tired of some tourists using flash so they decided to disallow photographing all together?

Anybody has taken photos at the Prado?

Estopa1

I really hope you are wrong about this. I visited the Prado three times in 2005. Took over 500 photos, including the 3 of May painting. I took more photos than that but they were not keepers.

It will be sad day in Madrid if this is true, because it will join the Reina Sofa and Thyssen-Bornemisza with photograph off-limits policy.

MadridMan I hope follow up with this.

Bill

Unfortunately, I think this is the case.
Today, when I entered the museum from the lower Goya entrance they guys at the entrance did not tell me anything about photographs (and they saw my camera). There were no signs about it either.

However very soon I noticed that nobody there was wearing cameras and taking photos, and I thought that was odd since only 6 months ago everybody was taking photograhps all over at will with no problems. So, I went and asked: "Se pueden hacer fotos sin flash?" (Can we make photos with no flash), and the answer was: "No, no photos can be taken". In fact nobody in the entire museum was taking photos today.

Estopa1, I had a similar/same experience just LAST Sunday (it was FREE to enter!) at the Prado Museum. Someone next to me was told the exact same thing: NO PHOTOS - WITH FLASH OR WITHOUT. I didn't ask the woman attendant why, though. I doubt she knew, only enforcing the rules. Too bad.

Saludos, MadridMan

Yeah, too bad.
I can understand the use of flash could deteriorate the paintings, but I can not understand what is wrong in taking photos with no flash. Something must have happened for them to do this and change the rules. It sucks.

Well then I glad I made those two visits to the Prado in 2005. I spent many hours in the Prado shooting my photos. My first visit I spent 5-6 hours in the museum. Those photos are now last photos of the Prado.

For me, it is one less thing to do when visiting Madrid and I not happy about this. :yuck:

Bill

I think it's a good thing. To me, art is best when viewed by the human eye, not through a camera. I find it somewhat annoying and distracting to be surrounded by people clicking away in museums and posturing to get a good "shot". And there is ALWAYS some clown who lets his/her flash go off by mistake. I'd rather preserve these great works for future generations than take this sort of chance. I'm glad the Prado finally cracked down on this.

I was thinking, maybe they did this in order to get more visitors? How do you guys thing the "new photo rule" would affect the number of visits the Prado gets? Will this increase or decrease attendance?

most museum wont let you take photos if not all. something to do with the paintings losing color or something like that.
anyway why take photo of a photo? my humble opinion of course.
The Prado was a bit late. I think was there 2 times once in 1972 and then in 1990 both times with girlfriends;one now my wife.

It could have been to increase sales in the gift shop for the postcards and museum books people will want to buy, since they cannot take a photo to remember their visit. It could be that the Prado wants exclusive copywrite of the painting in the Prado and not happy seeing photographs on the internet.

But the new rule is will not increase or decrease attendance, it just to make it a pain for the average person who will make a once in a lifetime visit and cannot have a snapshot.

Lets not hope Paris's Lovue, Orsay and Rome's top art museums do not follow this stupid rule. There is still Sevilla's Bellas Arts to photograph great Spanish painting and also in the cathedral too!

Bill

The no photo rule is primarily to protect the art - am guessing that as one poster wrote - "I saw tourists taken photos with a flash despite the ban" ....
Sad to say it probably also has to do with some more devious reasoning - such as what is photographed - for what intent, etc.

Almost all art is now beautifully reproduced on the web so if you have to have a copy .....

Lets not hope Paris's Lovue, Orsay
Bill from NYC
it is a new rule there too for the Louvre and Orsay; no longer photos allowed inside.FYI so is Versailles.
I supposed all majors are in the same ruling.

What is this world coming too! :yuck:

Versailles too! :o How long for Palacio Real to ban photographs?

Bill

You can't copyright four-hundred year old paintings and the Prado gift shop has to be one of the most low-key, least commercial museum gift shops in the world. Perhaps they decided to create an environment where the only focus is pondering the art itself. I'm glad to hear that more museums are moving in this direction. There are millions of other places in Madrid where you can take pictures of the here-and-now and capture something truly unique.

The last time I visited Madrid's Museo del Prado, I was not allowed to take photos or Videos. That was in '96 when 'Goya 250' was being celebrated. The last time I visited the Louvre, photography was prohibited and just taking a camera out of its bag would have been enough to get one ejected.

Bill from NYC: Is photography allowed in New York's Metropolitan Museum of Art??

It's prohibited in Philadelphia's Art Museum, and I don't have any problem with that. I'm sure some of the traveling exhibits we get here in Philadelphia would bypass us if we didn't have rigid rules about things like photography.

Ever wondered why Goya looks so mean on his self-portrait?("cara de mala leche") Because he got tired of all of you that kept taking his picture,that's why!(flash or no flash)

So he went ahead and told the museum people: "enough is enough".And since he's the "big kahuna" at the Prado,whatever he says is the gospel.

hehehehe...

I only hope photos are still allowed in El Escorial, and not for the paintings alone (there are more than 1000).

The New York Metropolitan Museum of Art still allows some photography. I took some photos just last week.

The policy is as follows:

Still photography is permitted for private, noncommercial use only in the Museum's galleries devoted to the permanent collection. Photographs cannot be published, sold, reproduced, transferred, distributed, or otherwise commercially exploited in any manner whatsoever. Photography is not permitted in special exhibitions or areas designated as "No Photography"; works of art on loan from private collections or other institutions may not be photographed. The use of a flash is prohibited. Movie and video cameras are prohibited. Tripods are allowed on weekdays only, and only with a permit issued by the Information Desk in the Great Hall.

Estopa1, I was in the palace of El Escorial last month and took loads of photos (without flash). Hope they haven't changed their photo rule policy there too for 2007.

Saludos, MadridMan

I hope so Madridman since I want to visit El Escorial again.

By the way, I just found some photos of the Prado Museum on the internet. I guess they were taken when photos were still allowed.

http://www.jorgetutor.com/spain/madrid/museodelprado2/museodelprado.htm

http://www.feelmadrid.com/pradomuseum.html

Some people do not get it when it comes to photography in art museums.

Some photographers will shoot the artwork; others will photograph the "people" interacting with the art. Some people want a photograph postcard of them standing next to art. Like Las Meninas and if that makes them happy, let them enjoy themselves.

Some art museums like the Paris’s Orsay, Louve, the museum itself are a piece of architectural art that is a joy to photograph. If you been in those museums you understand what I am talking about. The Guggenheim Art Museum in New York City has a policy of no photography of their art collect but they do permit anyone with a camera to walk in museum entrance, the bottom floor to photography the inside of this world famous art museum because the Guggenheim understands the building itself is art.

If you look at the link Estopa1 posted FeelMadrid.com, the photographs and information about the Prado just might get average nobody not familar with Spanish art to visit the Prado.

Look a Prado's website it is boring. :yuck:

If I was visiting Madrid for the first time which website would get me excited? That would be FeelMadrid.com.

That is all being made off limits and too bad for photographers in those countries. :yuck:

Bill

Wow!! I even found a video of the Prado!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYN3u3bjibI

Bill from NYC - have to differ with your last comments - and I'm also a photographer -

I concur with your comments that people interacting with art make for great photos - but people also interact with statues outside where photographing them interacting with the art (of course using discretion!!!!) is acceptable - just not museums ....

i am for one not wishing to photograph works of art like paintings and such. they deteriote with time and it cost the museum a bundle to fix renovate later.
also if i like the art i can buy postcards to show my friends and come back to the museum to see them again and again; love it planning being in madrid again this summer!!! suavemente!!!

Yep....I understand why we have to protect the Art. But I am still very sad. There is nothing better than taking a photo someplace and remembering that moment always. I don't know if everyone feels that way, but when I take a photogragh of someplace, I totally can feel that moment years later. I remember standing there, debating the shot, who I was with, and my mood. I have so many great shots inside museums...never using flash of course. Nonetheless, this is the way it will be and of course I will respect the rules.

Gretchen6

Nicely said.

Bill

Yes, but there are probably an equal number of people who think that there is nothing better than calling up a friend on a cell phone and telling them all about what they are doing or looking at--no matter where they are. And I think most of us can agree that this is obnoxious. Well, a lot of us feel the same way about photos in museums.

The thing is, the purpose of museums isn't to go to them and take photos. Or to go to them and call up a friend and tell them about what you are looking at. The purpose of museums is to preserve art for future generations and create an environment in which are can be viewed by as many people as possible in a relatively tranquil environment.

If too many people are taking videos or photographs, it detracts from the very purpose of museums. Especially in a very busy museum like the Prado.

Should we should starting kicking out tour groups which ruin the tranquil environment? I doubt very much art museum will give up this cash cow.

When the museum is crowded with people, it is not tranquil and you a searching for a spot to look at something without someone blocking you view.

Most of the people that visit museums are there on a once in a lifetime visits and I think the people that regularly visit should tolerate them. They are not there to do any harm to anyone or any artwork.

If they want to talk, shoot photos or carry their crying baby while walking through museum, it is ok with me. If they only go to an art museum to only see a the Mona Lisa, David in Florence or Prado’s Las Meninas and skip the rest of the art in the museum that is find with me.

My first visit in Prado I spend 5-6 hours shooting photos and must have been the biggest pain in the butt to everyone. I even had security worry because I was shooting photos of a plastic grey card holding it next to the paintings and sculptures. But I never saw one angry face at me. Sometime when I was shooting a photo a person would walk in the photo and then apologized. Or I told them thank you when they politely did not.

Give it another ten years and these silly no photo restrictions will be reversed. Cameras are getting smaller, more powerful and eventually flash will not be needed to take photos.

Bill

> They are not there to do any harm to anyone or any artwork.

I a very avid museum goer and I have seen flashes go off dozens of times at major museums that allow photos.

Everyone makes mistakes and this can harm the artwork. I've also been at the Prado many, many times when it was very crowded and have gotten elbowed by people jockeying for position to photograph. Or had trouble seeing the artwork because people were holding cameras over their heads trying to take a picture. It's particularly bad around Las Meninas and El jardin de las delicias--and several times I've seen the guards at the Prado crack down on people who were photographing incessantly because it was so disruptive to the others around them.

Restricting tour groups is comparing apples to oranges, my argument wasn't to restrict the access that people have to museums, rather to return to the real purposes of museums--which really isn't to provide a photo opportunity.

we will have no photos for a very long time, and I am for one glad. I will go to Madrid again this year and will see them again,just to refresh my memory....
You can change whats already been done.

UPDATE

Last week I visited the Royal Palace and they did not let us take any photos inside neither with or without flash, not even the statues in the corridors. It sucked so much.

I will be visiting El Escorial soon but I'm afraid photos will not be allowed there either since both palaces depend from "Patrimonio Nacional" and should have the same rules. I hope I am wrong.

THAT IS bad news. We could take photos the last time in the Royal Palace in 2000. That's always disheartening when you can FINALLY see something and then they tell you "NO PHOTOS ALLOWED".

We were in El Escorial Palace about 3 months ago and then we could take photos inside. Hope that hasn't changed.

Saludos, MadridMan

eventually it will change; the artwork needs to be protected. You can go and see it, buy postcards; see the sites internet and of course go back there to see it again.

hopefully generations after us can see it too.

I can see a day there will be no photos can be taken within the Alhambra, Sevilla's massive cathedral, Barcelona Casa Mila, or within Compostela's cathedral when they swing the great incense burner.

It is too bad for Spain and especially those who visit Spain once in their lifetime. :yuck:

Bill

Here's an easy solution for not taking photos...buy postcards! Most of the time the quality of the postcards is much beter than your own personal photos (unless of course, you are a professional art photographer). Most museums have very nice quality guides for special exhibits too, and they feature the artwork and have the descriptions of the pieces, with more detail than what is one the placecards next to the paintings. I have a close relative who is an art historian, and I can't tell you how often paintings are taken off the wall in museums for years while someone restores the painting. Think of all those people who miss their once in a lifetime chance to see the painting!

i understand where you are coming from super lau, but from my experiance, i have a tendency to look at the post card, take it home and put it in a cupboard to be found years later. Photos have a tendency to be passed around to family and friends, (with luck this forum)and it tends to be more of a treasured memory having taken it oneself.

the question of not taking photos is not just Spain its everywhere there is treasure to be uphold and share.

actually i started many mnay years back taking photos,and then bought post cards; it turn out the shots on the postcards were a lot better than my photos of the same subject. Now i am a postcard collector from 75 countries and over 3000 postcards. they have been shown in 2 museums,and hopefully more. Free I do not charge nor allowed the museums to charge to see them.They were small museums in northern France.

It has given me a lot of joy over the years,and even thus I have continue to take pictures, the postcards are still better shots!!!

Very well said madridmadridmadrid.

Years ago visitors could walk throughout and picnic in the Acropolis - not today. Pollution and unobstructed access have forced the closure to many sections - certainly the free access that existed 25 years ago.

There is a very real technical reason for not allowing art to be photographed ... the preservation of that art.

Last Update from El Escorial.

I was there last saturday and I'm afraid the worst expectations became true as photos can NOT be taken inside the building anymore. I managed to take a couple shots when nobody was looking but most of the time it was not possible.

Be advised.

In my opinion, I am glad. We need to preserve so others can continue seeing these wonders in future years.
buy postcards,they are beautifully illustrated.OR better yet come back soon!!!