While spending time with the thousands of hairdressers and colorists attending Wella's Trend Vision in Spain was fantastic...so was checking out the city of Madrid and some of its amazing museums. My favorite was the Prado, ranked number one in Spain and in the top ten museums of the world.

Hurricane Sandy gave me the chance to check it out SEVERAL times since I was stranded in Madrid for 5 extra days (there could be worse places to be stranded!) While there was much to love in the Prado (which I kept slipping and calling the PRADA), I was truly intriqued by an oil on canvas by the famed and prolific Spanish artist Diego Rodriquez de Silva Velazquez.

Many in the court of Pope Innocent X were invited to "model" for Velazquez and rooms in the museum are devoted to these court members. While touring the room called "Buffoons and Dwarfs", I was surprised to find "The Pope's Barber". How exciting!  Although I found the room placement a bit confusing (seriously..."Buffoons and Dwarfs"?  he was not a dwarf and "buffoon" is not positive in ANY language), I was thrilled that one of our professionals was honored in this manner. This portrait of Michelangelo Auguerio was painted in 1650 and up until recently was in a private collection.

Do you know of any other hairdresser, barber, colorist, make up or nail artist or any other beauty professional honored like this?  Please let us know! We love to celebrate the celebrated (and uncelebrated) salon professional.

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