Museo del Prado 2
Thomas Struth, 2005
Chromogenic C‑print · approx. 185 × 200 cm (framed)
The Met Hotel Art Collection, Thessaloniki
Description:
In Museo del Prado 2, Thomas Struth offers a contemplative scene within Madrid’s iconic Museo del Prado: two young women standing side by side, intently observing two grand Velázquez paintings. Shot in 2005, during his Making Time series, the photograph merges the intimacy of personal engagement with the monumental weight of classical art.
Struth works with large-format, balanced framing, soft yet precise lighting to ensure both the viewers and the paintings are rendered with equal clarity. This visual equilibrium elevates the viewer’s gaze and the historical artwork into a shared space of reflection, bridging past and present
Interpretive Highlights
Public encounter with art: The subjects—ordinary museum-goers—transform into psychological portraits of mediators between history and modern spectatorship
Dialogue between viewer and masterpiece: Struth crops the frame to draw our attention to both the observers and the Velázquez portraits behind them, suggesting an emotional and temporal echo.
“Making Time” concept: Part of a project that places its contemporary viewers alongside canonical paintings, Museo del Prado 2 encourages reflection on time, memory, and cultural continuity