The Museo Nacional del Prado’s selection committee has unanimously chosen Miguel Falomir, longtime curator and former deputy director of conservation and research at the Madrid-based institution, to be its new director.
Falomir, a former art history professor at the Universidad de Valencia, has been singled out to replace Miguel Zugaza, who served as director of the institution for the past 15 years. The trustees of the Prado are planning to meet in March to approve the decision, according to the Art Newspaper.
The incoming director has been chosen for the role for his scientific excellence, human touch, and ability to manage the resources made available to the institution regardless of the political climate, reports El País. Falomir, who is also a member of the scientific committee of the Fondazione Tiziano in Pieve di Cadore, Italy, has been responsible for organizing major exhibitions for the Prado on Titian, Tintoretto, Jacopo Bassano, and Raphael.
He told El País that it is “a collection that, unlike any other, reflects the vicissitudes of Spain.”
As the Prado heads into its upcoming bicentennial in 2019, it is clear that the incoming director has his work cut out for him.