Over thepast three decades, Pablo Picasso’s famed Guernica has been housed at the Reina Sofia Museum, attracting millions of visitors each year. However, no one has been able to capture images of the 26-foot-long painting… till now.
According to the New York Times, the institution, located in Madrid, Spain, has recently lifted the ban on photography—though fans of the work will still be restricted from using flash, tripods, or selfie sticks.
A museumspokesperson told the publication that the unprecedented decision was to “enhance the experience” for the public, allowing the 1937 work to be brought closer to art lovers in a way that other exhibitions have green-lighted for some time.
As per theSmithsonian Magazine, officials hope that the speed at which a selfie can be snapped will help with crowding in the room, which only allows 70 individuals to enter at a time.
The grayscale painting remains one of the artist’s most notable works, portraying the harsh realities of battle. As the museum puts it, the piece remains “a timeless, universal symbol, vilifying the implacable and criminal destruction of war.”