Spain's top art museum, the Prado, has invited visually impaired visitors to run their hands across priceless masterpieces in its first ever exhibition for the blind.

Six copies of works by masters such as El Greco and Francisco Goya were specially created for the exhibition.

Blind visitors use a relief painting technique that adds volume and texture to allow them a chance to create a mental image of a painting by feeling it.

Water bowls are ready for accompanying guide dogs and an audio guide advises blind visitors how to best explore the paintings through touch.

On a recent visit, Jose Pedro Gonzalez, 56, slowly ran his fingers over a copy of one of 15th century master Diego de Velazquez's most famous paintings, Apollo in the Forge of Vulcan.

His hands ran back and forth over the depiction of the god Apollo wearing a laurel crown, tracing the edges of the garment.

"There are many things that you can discover and that you love discovering," Mr Gonzalez, who has been blind since the age of 14, said.

"This is a brilliant exhibition. The only [other] way the blind have had to access paintings is through explanations from another person."

'Hands teach a lot' - more museums to invite the blind to touch

The blind use a relief painting technique that allows them a chance to create a mental image of the painting by feeling it. ( AFP: Gerard Julien )

The exhibition is part of a growing effort by Spanish museums to make their collections accessible to the visually impaired with help from Spain's powerful national organisation for the blind, known by its acronym ONCE.

"It is hard for a blind person to build a mental image of what these works are like so we looked for paintings that provided information but were clear," Prado curator Fernando Perez Suescun said.

ONCE's own museum in Madrid displays 34 models of world landmarks that the blind can touch.

A restorer visits the museum every Monday to repair any damage done to the models.

Elisabeth Axel, the president and founder of Art Beyond Sight, a New York-based non-profit organisation specialising in museum access for the blind, said more museums around the world were making their collections accessible to the blind.

"We are seeing that museums are truly outreaching and inviting in all audiences with multi-sensory exhibitions," she said.

The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, which organises an array of activities for blind visitors including guided tours, drawing classes and workshops where they can feel sculptures, also embraces a similar philosophy, Ms Axel added.

"Touching, smelling, listening, are very important," said Jose Luis Andres, 55, who lost his sight eight years ago.

"As I lack sight I have to complement this with my remaining senses and your hands teach you a lot."

AFP