A new way of seeing and sharing art on mobile devices from the Museo del Prado

MADRID.- The Museo del Prado and Madpixel today presented Second Canvas Museo del Prado, an app that combines knowledge of the Museum with interactive capacity in order to expand the experience of the Prado, either in preparation for a visit, out of curiosity or cultural interests or as an educational tool.

Second Canvas Museo del Prado includes 14 of the Museum’s masterpieces and the chance to buy the Prado’s Mona Lisa “in-app”. For the first time it will be possible to see this panel, which is fundamental for an understanding of Leonardo da Vinci’s work, in high quality, giga-pixel resolution, learning the stories that lie behind it. In addition to the 14 masterpieces, there are images of 60 more related works from the Prado’s collection, also in high-definition, which allow for an understanding of the context of the creation and meaning of the 14 masterpieces. Bosch’s unique style will thus be easily understandable, or the uniqueness of Man with his Hand on his Breast through comparisons with other male portraits by El Greco.

This app allows users to browse each of these masterpieces through information on the sitters, the technique used and their hidden details, offering a high-definition journey around the work.

This app allows users to browse each of these masterpieces through information on the sitters, the technique used and their hidden details, offering a high-definition journey around the work. In some cases, it also shows the x-radiograph of the paintings or their infra-red image.

Users can, for example, access Las Meninas and appreciate the changes that Velázquez made to the composition through the x-radiograph of it; discover the most hidden parts of Rogier van der Weyden’s Descent from the Cross through infra-red images; or use the super-zoom on The 3rd of May: the executions on Príncipe Pío to appreciate the way Goya added realism to the figures with his energetic brushstrokes and surprising economy of means.

The app also includes the audioguide to the Museum in English and Spanish, as well as the sign-guide and an expanded explanatory text for each work, helping the user to understand its significance within the artist’s oeuvre and the particular phase in his/her career. Another option of this app is the link-up with the social networks: as users browse the masterpieces, they can capture the details of the images shown in super-zoom and create their own stories about them which can be shared on Facebook and Twitter or sent by e-mail.

Each of the 14 masterpieces has been identified with an individual hashtag that allows comments on the works made on Twitter to be read and for conversations from the app.

In addition, thanks to the option to connect to tv by cable or airplay, users can enjoy the images in large format, while also making this an innovative, complete and user-friendly tool for use in an educational context.

Finally, this app allows for the compilation of personal lists of favourites and for the texts on the works, the audioguide and the details of the giga-pixel images to be downloaded, making them accessible without internet connection.