In Art For The Blind, Touching Exhibits Is Mandatory

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

There's a new exhibit at the Prado Museum in Madrid in which visitors are invited to violate the first commandment you get about fine art museums - don't touch. But a new exhibit there encourages visually impaired visitors to do just that. Six great works for masters, including da Vinci, Goya and El Greco, have been recast as three-dimensional works so that visually impaired people can feel the technique of great pieces of art. The works also have text written in Braille. Visitors who are not visually impaired can also experience the art this way by donning masks. As Britain's Daily Mail newspaper writes, given it's been stolen, spray-painted and attacked with a cup of tea, touching the Mona Lisa is one of the rarest treats in the world. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.