Cristina Hodgson
AS of last week until July 3, the Museo de Malaga is hosting the exhibition ‘Hoy toca el Padro’, which features tactile reproductions of six paintings from different pictorial genres.
The aim of this initiative, in which the AXA Foundation and ONCE (National Organization of Spanish blind people) are also collaborating, is to bring the world of culture closer to those who are visually impaired.
Additionally, the exhibition has also been designed for people who, without visual impairments through by wearing black glasses, can experience how a work of art can be understood through a tactile experience.
The paintings that form part of this project are ‘The Mona Lisa’ by Leonardo Da Vinci, ‘The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest’ by El Greco, ‘Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan’ by Diego Velázquez, ‘The Parasol’ by Francisco de Goya, ‘Still Life with Flowers, Artichokes, Cherries and Glassware’ by Juan van der Hamen and ‘Noli me tangere’ by Correggio.
All the tactile reproductions of these works are made using the Dürer Studies Didou Technique, which consists of printing two-dimensional images with six different levels of relief and textures.
According to Ana Moreno, General Education Coordinator of the Museo Nacional del Padro, when adaptations of painting are made for the visually impaired, it is necessary to select which elements to highlight and which are not important for the understanding of the painting, for which ‘collaboration of the ONCE technicians is essential.’
This initiative was originally presented in 2015 at the Prado Museum in Madrid, with the same paintings that can currently be visited in Malaga.
Since then the exhibition has been on display in Mallorca, Girona, Donostia, Vigo, Valencia and Sevilla.
Now, after a two year postponement due to Covid-19, it can be ‘touched’ in the Museum of Malaga.
Once the Malaga exhibition is over, these six paintings will travel to the Museo de Zaragoza, Museo de Lleida and Museo de Salamanca.
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