Success for the Prado Museum’s crowdfunding campaign

As well as celebrating its 200th anniversary, the Prado Museum has once again claimed media attention after completing its first crowdfunding campaign, which is also part of the celebrations.

The campaign was launched with the Portrait of Girl with Pigeon by French painter Simon Vouet, who is considered to be among the most important artists from the 17th century due to the quality and quantity of his work.

Portrait of Girl with Pigeon was painted between 1620 and 1622 and stands out for the natural and joyful air that emanates from the painting, which bears little resemblance to other portraits from that era with a much more sober feel and sombre strokes.

The girl’s smile and her cheerful expression made it the chosen painting for this crowdfunding campaign. The idea was to reach a total of €200,000 (which is how much the painting is said to be worth) with donations of €5 to €20, €20 to €100 and over €100. People were invited to take part in the campaign with both digital and physical donations.

After launching the campaign in September, the target had already been reached by 10 December, so Portrait of Girl with Pigeon became part of the Prado Museum’s collection having raised a total of €204,084.05.

The portrait now belongs to the people who sponsored it – firms that collaborate with the Museum, all kinds of companies and members of the public – and will be on display until 20 January in the Sala de las Musas hall, alongside a screen showing the names of its funders. Beside it is another masterpiece: Time Defeated by Hope and Beauty, which shows a woman with such a striking resemblance to the girl that viewers could think it is the same person.

(Picture taken from the Prado Museum website)

Categories: Madrid Cultura