The Prado Museum's new proposal places the historical photograph at the heart of the storyUsing the camera as a guiding thread to understand how artists constructed their public image, their working environment, and their visual memory between the mid-19th and early 20th centuries, the exhibition, titled The artist's universe before the cameraIt invites us to look at painters and sculptors not through their paintings or sculptures, but through the photographs that portrayed them in their daily professional lives.
Far from being an anecdotal example, the project is based on the growing and still little-known Prado historical photography collectionThis is one of the museum's newest and largest sections. Using a selection of 32 images, the exhibition explores how the emergence of photography transformed the representation of the artist, the staging of the studio, and the documentation of the creative process over a period of approximately 80 years.
An exhibition on art and photography in the heart of the Prado
The exhibition Explore the link between art and photography From the 1850s to the 1930s, a period in which the camera became an essential tool for capturing the image of the artist and their surroundings, visitors will encounter individual and group portraits, studio views, and scenes that depict different phases of the artistic process, from initial sketches to nearly finished works.
The focus is not limited to showing famous faces: the selection reconstructs a true visual map of the artistic ecosystemwhere academies, private studios, improvised spaces, and open-air settings are all mixed together. The artist appears posing solemnly, in a relaxed attitude alongside colleagues, or immersed in his work, while the camera records the atmosphere of the workshop and the objects that define it.
By placing these images in the 19th-century European context, the exhibition allows us to understand how photography became a key medium for to affirm identity and professional statusThe photographic portrait became a calling card to colleagues, clients, institutions and the public, and gave rise to its own language in which poses, clothing and props speak as much as faces.
The exhibition also connects with the line of work that the Prado has been developing around the photographic medium, continuing the path opened by recent initiatives dedicated to the photography as a shared memory of the museumThus, the exhibition not only illuminates the artists portrayed, but also the way in which art institutions have integrated photography into their own narrative.
In parallel, the exhibition highlights that these images are the result of a network of professional and amateur photographersSome were very well-known in their time, while others remained anonymous. Their perspectives, techniques, and resources create a mosaic where documentary, commercial, and, at times, overtly artistic intentions intersect.
The "Open Warehouse" program and room 60 of the Villanueva building
The exhibition is part of the project "Open Warehouse" of the Prado MuseumThe program aims to showcase 19th-century works that are usually kept in storage. It takes place in Room 60 of the Villanueva building, a space designed to offer small-format exhibitions focused on specific artists, techniques, or themes.
Since its opening in 2009, this room has hosted monographs dedicated to figures such as Sorolla, Rosales or Pradillaas well as proposals that review technical or thematic issues related to the 19th century. In this context, The artist's universe before the camera It is the second monographic exhibition focused exclusively on photography with the Prado's own funds, after the exhibition The Prado multiplied: photography as shared memory.
The "Open Warehouse" format allows for bringing the public closer. works that are rarely exhibitedIn this case, they are period photographic prints of great documentary value. These include visiting letters, stereoscopic cards, albumen prints, phototypes, postcards, and other materials that reconstruct the artists' presence in the social and professional sphere of their time.
This line of work also helps to broaden the traditional idea that many visitors have of the Prado, associated almost exclusively with painting. The prominence of photography in Room 60 shows that the museum is reviewing their collections from broader perspectiveswhere graphic and documentary resources gain relevance for interpreting the 19th and 20th centuries.
In this new installment of the program, curator Beatriz Sánchez Torija is once again in charge of the selection and discourse, articulating a reading that combines historical data, aesthetic values and context analysisbut without losing sight of the human element that emerges in each portrait.
Portraits, studies and work scenes: the artist in front of the camera
The core of the exhibition consists of 32 photographs that offer a plural vision of the artist as an individual and as a member of a communityThere are formal portraits, group poses, studio images, and photographs that focus on details of the creative process, such as models, intermediate plaster casts, or canvases in different stages.
One of the pieces that opens the tour is a Group photograph taken in Ángel Alonso Martínez's studioThe photograph, acquired by the Prado in 2012, depicts artists associated with the San Fernando Royal Academy of Fine Arts alongside some of their professors. The large, glass-enclosed studio, with its gabled roof, demonstrates how these spaces functioned as places for work, training, and socializing.
The visitor may also stop before Panoramic views of Mariano Fortuny's workshop in Romeconstructed from two adjacent slabs that barely reveal the join. The studio appears almost like a cabinet of curiosities, filled with objects, works, fabrics, and furniture that speak as much to the artist's taste as to his way of understanding creation.
The exhibition also includes images of Federico de Madrazo's studio in MadridFrom the workshop of Luis de Madrazo or the sculptor Agustín Querol, alongside an allegory of the arts intended for the pediment of the National Library. Other photographs show Spanish artists in Rome, scenes in the courtyard of the Golden Room of the Alhambra, or more relaxed moments, such as the painters Jaime Morera and Agustín Lhardy dressed as cooks.
These scenes show that the artist's studio was not only a place of quiet production, but also a meeting point and a carefully constructed stageThe photos reveal everything from elaborate and almost theatrical environments to more sober spaces dominated by easels, unfinished sculptures, and piles of fabrics.
This collection shows how, in the second half of the 19th century, going to a photographic studio became a social and professional eventIn cities, so-called "glass cabins" proliferated; these were bright workshops located on rooftops or high floors that took advantage of natural light to improve the quality of the images.
From cartes de visite to autochrome: photographic techniques and media
In addition to the iconographic content, the exhibition pays attention to the technical evolution of photography between two centuriesThe tour includes examples of albumen prints, platinotypes, gelatin prints on paper and prints on cardboard, along with less common supports such as images on iron or glass.
One of the most striking aspects is the presence of a single color photograph Within the collection is a stereoscopic autochrome print of the sculptor Miguel Blay, dated between 1904 and 1910, by an unknown artist. It is one of the oldest color images held by the Prado Museum, donated in 2020, and was created using the Autochrome system patented by the Lumière brothers at the beginning of the 20th century.
In this image, Blay appears outdoors, leaning against a backdrop of vegetation and not looking directly at the camera, suggesting a relationship of trust with the photographer. The greens, whites, and skin tones are revealed when the piece is specifically lit, adding an almost intimate dimension to the encounter between artist and subject.
The exhibition notes that the Prado's collection of historical photographs, largely formed thanks to donations in the 21st century, now totals more than 10.000 records And it continues to grow. Despite its size, it remains one of the least known parts of the institution, so projects like this help to raise its profile.
As for formats, there are many Cartes de visite and "Paris" cards intended for individual portraits, as well as group compositions in larger sizes. There are also promenade cards, designed for more stylized full-length portraits, and examples of postcards or phototypes that show how the artist's image circulated beyond the strictly professional circle.
Featured artists: from the Madrazo family to Miguel Blay
A large part of the works on display come from archives of Spanish artists from the 19th and early 20th centuriesAmong the prominent names are Luis and Federico de Madrazo, Dióscoro Puebla, Cecilio Pla, Miguel Blay, Agustín Querol or Mariano Fortuny, along with other creators less known to the general public.
The Madrazo saga occupies a prominent place, with Images of family studies and gatherings in emblematic spacesOne of the photographs shows the family in the courtyard of the Golden Room of the Alhambra, where the camera captures both the Nasrid architecture and the relaxed attitude of those portrayed, including Cecilia de Madrazo and her husband, Mariano Fortuny.
In the field of sculpture, the figure of Miguel Blay takes on a special prominenceIn addition to the aforementioned color autochrome, the Prado Museum holds three of his sculptures, and the exhibition includes a photograph of the work. Eclosión in his studio, taken by the photographer Julio Torres Vivancos in a gelatin print on paper mounted on cardboard, dated 1904. The framing, which shows an unusual foreshortening from the back of the piece, allows one to appreciate details of the modeling that go unnoticed in a front view.
Another image captures the Blay's exhibitor's card at the 1900 Paris Universal Expositionwhere his portrait appears in carte de visite format. This document illustrates the extent to which photography became integrated into official art circuits, accompanying creators at international competitions and major cultural events.
The collection is completed with snapshots in which other artists appear in diverse contexts: the sculptor Agustín Querol next to a monumental allegory of the arts, the painter Benlliure portrayed with the writer Federico García Sanchiz in the former's workshop, or groups of Spanish creators in studios in Rome such as that of Altobelli and Molins.
Through these examples, the exhibition reveals how photography acted as ally of painters and sculptorsaccompanying them in their daily lives, documenting their commissions and helping to preserve the memory of their works and those who made them possible.
Women artists and the female presence in images
In a historical context dominated by male figures, the exhibition pays attention to the The presence, still a minority, of women artists in the photographs. Although in the large group snapshots taken in workshops and studios there is an almost systematic absence of female creators, some individual portraits demonstrate that there were women who managed to make their way in the profession.
A significant example is the portrait of María Luisa de la Riva in her Parisian studio Around 1900. At 41 years old, she appears holding a palette and brush, in an image that presents her without any pretensions as a professional painter who works to earn a living, not as an amateur. The framing and the pose reinforce this status, underscoring her autonomy and her career.
The painter is also present. Fernanda Francés, photographed by Fernando Debas in a promenade card dated between 1875 and 1883. This more stylized, full-length portrait format helps to show the artist with a solid public presence in a world that was only just beginning to admit them into the academic and exhibition sphere.
Alongside these names, the exhibition includes images of female students in the workshops of Cecilio Pla or Manuel González SantosThis photograph provides a visual record of how some women began to integrate into formal art education. Although still a minority, their appearance in the photos indicates that social change was already underway.
In contrast, none of the 32 selected pieces have been identified. photograph signed by a womanThis is something the collection's curator considers significant. It's possible that some works by unknown artists may have been created by someone else. female photographersBut for now, studies are lacking to confirm this, which opens up a pending field of research regarding female authorship.
A technical and historical look at 80 years of photography
The time frame of the exhibition spans approximately eight decades of evolution of the photographic mediumFrom the 1850s to the 1930s. During this period, technical, commercial, and cultural changes occurred that directly affected the way the artist and their environment were represented.
In its early decades, photography offered the possibility of to accurately define an unstable realityThis was especially valuable for those working with models, complex sets, or monumental projects. Gradually, portraiture established itself as one of the major genres of the new medium, associated with the affirmation of identity and social prestige.
The preserved images show how the poses, the chosen objects and the clothing They construct a visual discourse about each artist: some surround themselves with paintings and sculptures to reinforce their status, others prefer a more sober scenography, and there are those who present themselves in more relaxed attitudes, almost in complicity with the photographer.
At the same time, competition between photographic studios spurred the diversification of formats and presentationsCartes de visite and "Paris" cards facilitated the circulation of individual portraits, while large formats and group compositions responded to the demand of academies, associations, and professional circles.
The Prado exhibition synthesizes this technical and social history through a collection of pieces, most of which are new to the public, and it does so from an approach that combines specialized research and accessibilityThe visitor can follow the thread of these changes without needing to master the technical jargon, but with enough detail to understand the importance of each advance.
The proposal remains open to the public until July 5th in room 60 of the Villanueva building of the Prado Museum, offering a unique opportunity to glimpse a little-seen chapter in the history of art: the moment when the camera became an ally of artists to define how they wanted to be seen and remembered.
The collection of photographs gathered in The artist's universe before the camera It paints a complex and nuanced portrait of artistic life between the 19th and 20th centuries: Workshops transformed into stages, artists asserting themselves before the lens, constantly changing techniques, and a photographic collection that the Prado brings to light to show how the image of the creator was constructed as much with brushes and chisels as with plates, negatives and autochromes.
