Saturday, February 14, 2015

Touching the Art at the Prado


Diego Velazquez, Forge of Vulcan, Photo Daily Mail
The Prado Museum in Madrid has recreated several classic paintings so that visually impaired people can touch them. Sighted visitors can don blindfolds to experience them that way too.

The images were enhanced with a low bas relief using a 3D printing technique called Didú.

Museum site: Touching the Prado
Daily Mail: Gallery unveils specially created versions of classic paintings that blind people can 'see' by touching them
Related GJ Posts:
"Seeing with the Hands"
"Can Blind People Draw?"

4 comments:

Gordon Napier said...

I don't see the attraction.

S. Stipick said...

This is great! And while I know it's not the same as a painting rich with impasto, if only they would do something similar with a Rembrandt or Hals. Man would I love to run my fingers over some of those paint strokes and not worry about destroying the paintng or getting kicked out!

I'm hoping, in the relativly near future, that 3D printing might help make this happen. An unrealistic wish, I know, but a man can dream. Can't he?

Glenn Tait said...

I think it would be difficult for most sighted people to really "see" the textures blindfolded we would probably do better to see what we were touching but for someone who is blind and has heightened sensitivity in their fingers it would be a very different experience.

In 1987 I was at the Rodin museum in Paris where there was a blind couple who had been given permission to touch the sculptures with their bare hands. I had the priveldge to walk with them and hear their responses and reactions to each piece. It was an amazing experience to hear their appreciation and understanding of the forms, textures and beauty of each piece from their unique point of view.

Robert J. Simone said...

I think it's great. I'm sure they can "see" the rhythm and sense the poetry of these great works.