In this work is proposed a description and analysis of the elements involved in the experience of observing artistic images, setting the experience within an art museum. The museum is recognized as an institution of Modernity in need of evolution, and it proposes to include in the analysis of the observation experience the contributions of two relevant concepts in visual anthropology: contact zone by Mary Louise Pratt and visual economy by Deborah Poole. To illustrate the articulation of these concepts, an observation experience at the Museo Nacional del Prado is presented as a case.