The Museo del Prado will renew your lighting system with the support of the Iberdrola Foundation
on July 8, 2013
El Prado Museum will conduct renewal integral of its lighting system with the support of the Fundación Iberdrola. This ambitious project, called ' Lighting the meadow ', includes the replacement of other current halogen lamps with led technology in all the rooms of the gallery. In this way, is intended to improve the quality of the presentation and preservation of collections and develop at the same time a policy of saving energy and environmental management, within the framework of the energy efficiency of the Museum program. The Convention was launched today in the Museo del Prado by the President of the Iberdrola Foundation, Manuel Marín; the President of the Royal Board of of the Prado Museum, José Pedro Pérez; and the director of the Museo del Prado, Miguel Zugaza. The initiative will be developed over the next four years with all the showrooms of the Villanueva building lighting.
The technology to be used will enable a reduction to 75% in power consumption and minimize spending on maintenance, led devices have a useful life of more than 15 years. Once completed, the new facility will prevent the emission of about 500 tons of CO2a year. Also, it will improve the conditions of conservation of works - to not emit UV radiation and infrared or have peaks of emission - and exhibition of the collection, because it will increase the sharpness of vision, it will intensify the colors and will generate depth effect without distorting the compositions.
With the signing of this agreement, the Iberdrola Foundation strengthens its collaboration with the Museo del Prado and acquires the status of Benefactor. The entity was already since 2010 protective member of its restoration program. Result of this collaboration, the Gallery has addressed the intervention works as influential as the equestrian portraits of ' Felipe III on horseback ' and ' Margarita of Austria horse ', Diego Velázquez; 'The wine of the Fiesta of San Martín', of Pieter Bruegel, the elder; and the copy of 'La Gioconda', among others.
Likewise, the Iberdrola Foundation will support the restoration of 'The collection' of El Greco, whose intervention by specialists of the Prado Museum has also been announced today. Intervention on this work will take place in the workshops of the Gallery, at the request of the chapter of the Cathedral of Toledo. The planned work will include x-rays, infrared and ultraviolet, previous to its surface cleaning, removal of varnish and the consolidation of the pictorial layer.
The collaboration agreement between the Prado Museum and the Iberdrola Foundation establishes, in addition, the granting of scholarships in restoration, within the program of grants and aid to the investigation of the entity. The objective of this initiative is to complete the training of future specialists and promoting research in the field of restoration.
