Prado museum throws spotlight on reverse side of paintings

A new exhibition at Madrid's Prado museum is throwing a spotlight on the reverse side of paintings, letting visitors see labels, seals and sketches that are usually hidden from view.

The aim of the Reversos (On the Reverse) exhibition is to change the viewer's point of view and take them behind the scenes to open a "door to the secrets of art," said its curator, Miguel Angel Blanco.

"This exhibition goes far beyond simply turning the paintings over on the wall," he said.

About 100 works are on display in two rooms with black walls, including paintings on loan from 29 foreign museums and international collections such as the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam and Boston's Museum of Fine Arts.

"We wanted to do an international project, not limit ourselves to the paintings of the Prado museum," he said.

In preparing the exhibit, Blanco said he has made an "in-depth exploration" of the Prado's vast collection over the past seven years and had seen "most of the paintings from the front and the back".

The inspiration was one of the Prado's most famous paintings, Diego Velazquez's 17th-century masterpiece "Las Meninas" depicting the Infanta Margarita and her courtiers.

In the picture, the artist himself is also visible, working on a large canvas placed on the floor. The back of the painting he is working on can be seen on the left side of "Las Meninas."

A life-size replica of the back of this huge painting forms the centerpiece of the exhibition, which opened last month and runs until March.

The rest of the works are originals. Some have their painted side to the wall while others can be seen from both sides such as Swedish-Austrian painter Martin van Meytens' 18th-century "Kneeling Nun."

The front depicts a...