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.