The Museo del Prado ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national

art museum An art museum or art gallery is a building or space for the display of art, usually from the museum's own Collection (artwork), collection. It might be in public or private ownership, be accessible to all, or have restrictions in place. Although ...

, located in central

Madrid Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...

. It houses collections of

European art The art of Europe, also known as Western art, encompasses the history of visual art in Europe. European prehistoric art started as mobile Upper Paleolithic rock and cave painting and petroglyph art and was characteristic of the period betw ...

, dating from the 12th century to the early 20th century, based on the former Spanish royal collection, and the single best collection of

Spanish art Spanish art has been an important contributor to Western art history, Western art and Spain has produced many famous and influential artists including Diego Velázquez, Velázquez, Francisco Goya, Goya and Pablo Picasso, Picasso. Spanish art w ...

. Founded as a museum of

painting Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

s and

sculpture Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

in 1819, it also contains important collections of other types of works. The numerous works by

Francisco Goya Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (; ; 30 March 1746 – 16 April 1828) was a Spanish Romanticism, romantic painter and Printmaking, printmaker. He is considered the most important Spanish artist of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Hi ...

, the single most extensively represented artist, as well as by

Hieronymus Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (; ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter from Duchy of Brabant, Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, gene ...

El Greco Doménikos Theotokópoulos (, ; 1 October 1541 7 April 1614), most widely known as El Greco (; "The Greek"), was a Greek painter, sculptor and architect of the Spanish Renaissance, regarded as one of the greatest artists of all time. ...

Peter Paul Rubens Sir Peter Paul Rubens ( ; ; 28 June 1577 – 30 May 1640) was a Flemish painting, Flemish artist and diplomat. He is considered the most influential artist of the Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque tradition. Rubens' highly charged comp ...

Titian Tiziano Vecellio (; 27 August 1576), Latinized as Titianus, hence known in English as Titian ( ), was an Italian Renaissance painter, the most important artist of Renaissance Venetian painting. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near Belluno. Ti ...

, and

Diego Velázquez Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (baptised 6 June 15996 August 1660) was a Spanish painter, the leading artist in the Noble court, court of King Philip IV of Spain, Philip IV of Spain and Portugal, and of the Spanish Golden Age. He i ...

, are some of the highlights of the collection. Velázquez and his keen eye and sensibility were also responsible for bringing much of the museum's fine collection of Italian masters to Spain, now one of the largest outside of Italy. The collection currently comprises around 8,200 drawings, 7,600 paintings, 4,800 prints, and 1,000 sculptures, in addition to many other works of art and historic documents. As of 2012, the museum displayed about 1,300 works in the main buildings, while around 3,100 works were on temporary loan to various museums and official institutions. The remainder were in storage.See also ''Museo del Prado, Catálogo de las pinturas'', 1996, Ministerio de Educación y Cultura, Madrid, No ISBN, which lists about 7,800 paintings. Many works have been passed to the Museo Reina Sofia and other museums over the years; others are on loan or in storage. On the new displays, se
El Prado se reordena y agranda. europapress.es here (in Spanish)
The Prado was ranked as the 16th most-visited museum in the

list of most-visited art museums A primary source for 2024 figures is the Art Newspaper whose most recent annual survey was published in March 2025. Other major sources included the newsroom of the Smithsonian Institution, the French Ministry of Culture, and the Association of ...

in the world in 2020. The Prado and the nearby

Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum The Thyssen-Bornemisza National Museum (, ; named after its founder, Baron Heinrich Thyssen, Heinrich Thyssen-Bornemisza), or simply the Thyssen, is an art museum in Madrid, Spain, located near the Museo del Prado, Prado Museum on one of the city ...

and the

Museo Reina Sofía Museo may refer to: * ''Museum'' (2018 film), Mexican drama heist film * Museo station, station on line 1 of the Naples Metro {{disambiguation ...

form Madrid's Golden Triangle of Art along the

Paseo del Prado The Paseo del Prado is one of the main boulevards in Madrid, Spain. It runs north–south between the Plaza de Cibeles and the Plaza del Emperador Carlos V (also known as Plaza de Madrid Atocha railway station, Atocha), with the Plaza de Cánov ...

, which was included in the

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...

World Heritage World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

list in 2021.

History

The building that is now the home of the ''Museo Nacional del Prado'' was designed in 1785 by architect of the

Enlightenment in Spain The ideas of the Age of Enlightenment () came to History of Spain, Spain in the 18th century with the Spanish royal family, new Bourbon dynasty, following the death of the last House of Habsburg#Spanish Habsburgs: Kings of Spain, Kings of Portugal ...

Juan de Villanueva on the orders of

Charles III Charles III (Charles Philip Arthur George; born 14 November 1948) is King of the United Kingdom and the 14 other Commonwealth realms. Charles was born at Buckingham Palace during the reign of his maternal grandfather, King George VI, and ...

to house the Natural History Cabinet. Nonetheless, the building's final function was not decided until the monarch's grandson,

Ferdinand VII Ferdinand VII (; 14 October 1784 – 29 September 1833) was King of Spain during the early 19th century. He reigned briefly in 1808 and then again from 1813 to his death in 1833. Before 1813 he was known as ''el Deseado'' (the Desired), and af ...

, encouraged by his wife, Queen María Isabel de Braganza, decided to use it as a new Royal Museum of Paintings and Sculptures. The royal museum, which would soon become known as the National Museum of Painting and Sculpture, and subsequently the Museo Nacional del Prado, opened to the public for the first time in November 1819. It was created with the double aim of showing the works of art belonging to the Spanish Crown and to demonstrate to the rest of Europe that Spanish art was of equal merit to any other national school. Also, this museum needed several renovations during the 19th and 20th centuries, because of the increase of the collection as well as the increase of the public who wants to see all the collection that the museum hosted. The first catalogue of the museum, published in 1819 and solely devoted to Spanish painting, included 311 paintings, although at that time the museum housed 1,510 from the various royal residences, the Reales Sitios, including works from other schools. The exceptionally important royal collection, which forms the nucleus of the present-day , started to increase significantly in the 16th century during the time of

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

and continued under the succeeding Habsburg and Bourbon monarchs. Their efforts and determination led to the royal collection being enriched by some of the masterpieces now to be seen in the Prado. These include '' The Descent from the Cross (van der Weyden)'' by

Rogier van der Weyden Rogier van der Weyden (; 1399 or 140018 June 1464), initially known as Roger de le Pasture (), was an Early Netherlandish painting, early Netherlandish painter whose surviving works consist mainly of religious triptychs, altarpieces, and commis ...

, ''

The Garden of Earthly Delights ''The Garden of Earthly Delights'' () is the modern title given to a triptych oil painting on oak panels painted by the Early Netherlandish master Hieronymus Bosch, between 1490 and 1510, when Bosch was between 40 and 60 years old. Bos ...

'' by

Hieronymous Bosch Hieronymus Bosch (; ; born Jheronimus van Aken ; – 9 August 1516) was a Dutch people, Dutch painter from Duchy of Brabant, Brabant. He is one of the most notable representatives of the Early Netherlandish painting school. His work, gene ...

, '' The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest'' by

, '' Death of the Virgin (Mantegna)'' by Mantegna, ''The Holy Family'', known as " La Perla (painting)", by

Raphael Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (; March 28 or April 6, 1483April 6, 1520), now generally known in English as Raphael ( , ), was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. List of paintings by Raphael, His work is admired for its cl ...

, '' Equestrian Portrait of Charles V'' by

, '' Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet'' by

Tintoretto Jacopo Robusti (late September or early October 1518Bernari and de Vecchi 1970, p. 83.31 May 1594), best known as Tintoretto ( ; , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter of the Venetian school. His contemporaries both admired and criticized th ...

, Dürer's '' Self-portrait at 26'', ''

Las Meninas ) is a 1656 painting in the Museo del Prado in Madrid, by Diego Velázquez, the leading artist of the Spanish Baroque painting, Spanish Baroque. It has become one of the most widely analyzed works in Western painting for the way its complex a ...

'' by Velázquez, '' The Three Graces'' by Rubens, and '' The Family of Charles IV'' by Goya. In addition to works from the Spanish royal collection, the other holdings increased and enriched the museum with further masterpieces, such as the two Majas by Goya. Among the now closed museums whose collections have been added to that of the Prado were the Museo de la Trinidad in 1872, and the Museo de Arte Moderno in 1971. In addition, numerous legacies, donations and purchases have been of crucial importance for the growth of the collection. Various works entered the Prado from the Museo de la Trinidad, including ''The Fountain of Grace'' by the School of Van Eyck, the Santo Domingo and San Pedro Martír altarpieces painted for the monastery of Santo Tomás in Ávila by

Pedro Berruguete Pedro Berruguete (c. 1450 – 1504) was a Spanish painter whose art is regarded as a transitional style between Gothic art, Gothic and Renaissance art. Berruguete most famously created paintings of the first few years of the Inquisition and of ...

, and the five canvases by El Greco executed for the Colegio de doña María de Aragón. Most of the Museum's 19th-century paintings come from the former Museo de Arte Moderno, including works by the Madrazos, José de Madrazo and

Federico de Madrazo Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz (9 February 181510 June 1894) was a Spanish painter. Biography Born in Rome, he was the son of José de Madrazo y Agudo, the painter and former Director of the Prado Museum, and Isabel Kuntz Valentini. Federico's gra ...

, Vicente López,

Carlos de Haes Carlos Sebastián Pedro Hubert de Haes (January 25, 1829 – June 17, 1898) was a Spanish painter from Belgium.Caso, E. F., ''Les Orientalistes de l'école Espagnole,'' ACR edition, 1997, p. 128 He was noted for the Realism (arts), Realism in h ...

, Eduardo Rosales and Sorolla. Upon the deposition of

Isabella II Isabella II (, María Isabel Luisa de Borbón y Borbón-Dos Sicilias; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904) was Queen of Spain from 1833 until her deposition in 1868. She is the only queen regnant in the history of unified Spain. Isabella wa ...

in 1868, the museum was nationalized and acquired the new name of "". The building housed the royal collection of arts, and it rapidly proved too small. The first enlargement to the museum took place in 1918. Since the creation of the more than 2,300 paintings have been incorporated into its collection, as well as numerous sculptures, prints, drawings and works of art through bequests, donations and purchases, which account for most of the New Acquisitions. Numerous bequests have enriched the museum's holdings, such as the outstanding collection of medals left to the museum by Pablo Bosch; the drawings and items of decorative art left by Pedro Fernández Durán as well as Van der Weyden's masterpiece, '' Duran Madonna''; and the Ramón de Errazu bequest of 19th-century paintings. Particularly important donations include Barón Emile d'Erlanger's gift of Goya's Black Paintings in 1881. Among the numerous works that have entered the collection through purchase are some outstanding ones acquired in recent years including two works by El Greco, ''The Fable'' and ''The Flight into Egypt'' acquired in 1993 and 2001, Goya's '' The Countess of Chinchon'' bought in 2000, Velázquez's ''Portrait of Ferdinando Brandani'', acquired in 2003, Bruegel's ''

The Wine of Saint Martin's Day ''The Wine of Saint Martin's Day'' is the largest painting by the Northern Renaissance artist Pieter Bruegel the Elder. It is currently held in the Museo del Prado, Madrid, where it was identified as a Bruegel original in 2010. Like much of Bru ...

'' bought in 2010 and Fra Angelico's ''Madonna of the Pomegranate'' purchased in 2016. Between 1873 and 1900, the Prado helped decorate city halls, new universities, and churches. During the

Second Spanish Republic The Spanish Republic (), commonly known as the Second Spanish Republic (), was the form of democratic government in Spain from 1931 to 1939. The Republic was proclaimed on 14 April 1931 after the deposition of Alfonso XIII, King Alfonso XIII. ...

from 1931 to 1936, the focus was on developing provincial museums. During the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, upon the recommendation of the

League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...

, the museum staff removed 353 paintings, 168 drawings and the Dauphin's Treasure and sent the art to

Valencia Valencia ( , ), formally València (), is the capital of the Province of Valencia, province and Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Valencian Community, the same name in Spain. It is located on the banks of the Turia (r ...

, then later to

Girona Girona (; ) is the capital city of the Province of Girona in the autonomous community of Catalonia, Spain, at the confluence of the Ter, Onyar, Galligants, and Güell rivers. The city had an official population of 106,476 in 2024, but the p ...

, and finally to

Geneva Geneva ( , ; ) ; ; . is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland and the most populous in French-speaking Romandy. Situated in the southwest of the country, where the Rhône exits Lake Geneva, it is the ca ...

. The art had to be returned across French territory in night trains to the museum upon the commencement of World War II. During the early years of the dictatorship of

Francisco Franco Francisco Franco Bahamonde (born Francisco Paulino Hermenegildo Teódulo Franco Bahamonde; 4 December 1892 – 20 November 1975) was a Spanish general and dictator who led the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalist forces i ...

, many paintings were sent to embassies. The main building was enlarged with short pavilions in the rear between 1900 and 1960. The next enlargement was the incorporation of two buildings (nearby but not adjacent) into the institutional structure of the museum: the Casón del Buen Retiro, which is equipped to display up to 400 paintings and which housed the bulk of the 20th-century art from 1971 to 1997, and the Salón de Reinos (Throne building), formerly the Army Museum. In 1993, an extension proposed by the Prado's director at the time, Felipe Garin, was quickly abandoned after a wave of criticism. In the late 1990s, a $14 million roof work forced the Velázquez masterpiece ''Las Meninas'' to change galleries twice. In 1998, the Prado annex in the nearby Casón del Buen Retiro closed for a $10 million two-year overhaul that included three new underground levels. In 2007, the museum finally executed

Rafael Moneo José Rafael Moneo Vallés (born 9 May 1937) is a Spanish architect. He won the Pritzker Prize for architecture in 1996, the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 2003, and La Biennale's Golden Lion in 2021. Biography Born in Tudela, Spain, Moneo studi ...

's project to expand its exposition room to 16,000 square meters, hoping to increase the yearly number of visitors from 1.8 million to 2.5 million. Interior of Prado Museum Madrid

A glass-roofed and wedge-shaped foyer now contains the museum's shops and cafeteria, removing them from the main building to make more room for galleries. The 16th-century Cloister of Jerónimo has been removed stone by stone to make foundations for increased stability of surrounding buildings and will be re-assembled in the new museum's extension. Hydraulic jacks had to be used to prevent the basement walls from falling during construction. The enlargement is an underground building which connects the main building to another one entirely reconstructed. In November 2016, it was announced that British architect

Norman Foster Norman Robert Foster, Baron Foster of Thames Bank (born 1 June 1935) is an English architect. Closely associated with the development of high-tech architecture, Lord Foster is recognised as a key figure in British modernist architecture. Hi ...

, in a joint project with Carlos Rubio Carvajal, is to renovate the Hall of Realms, which once formed part of the Buen Retiro palace and transform it into a $32 million extension of the Prado. The museum announced the selection of Foster and Rubio after a jury reviewed the proposals of the eight competition finalists – including

David Chipperfield Sir David Alan Chipperfield, , (born 18 December 1953) is a British architect. He established David Chipperfield Architects in 1985, which grew into a global architectural practice with offices in London, Berlin, Milan, Shanghai, and Santiago d ...

Rem Koolhaas Remment Lucas Koolhaas (; born 17 November 1944) is a Dutch architect, architectural theory, architectural theorist, urbanist and Professor in Practice of Architecture and Urban Design at the Harvard Graduate School of Design, Graduate School of ...

and Eduardo Souto de Moura – who had already been shortlisted from an initial list of 47 international teams of architects.Raphael Minder (25 November 2016)
Norman Foster to Remodel Palace for Prado Extension
''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

''. The building was acquired by the Prado in 2015, after having served as an army museum until 2005. The project is designed to give the Prado about 61,500 square feet of additional available space, of which about 27,000 square feet will be used to exhibit works. Only in 2021, the Spanish government approved the plans and awarded the project 36 million euros.

Historic structure

The Prado Museum building is one of the buildings constructed during the reign of

(Carlos III) as part of a grandiose building scheme designed to bestow upon

a monumental urban space. The building was initially conceived by José Moñino y Redondo, count of Floridablanca, and was commissioned in 1785 by Charles III for the ''reurbanización'' of the Paseo del Prado. To this end, Charles III called on one of his favorite architects, Juan de Villanueva, author also of the nearby Botanical Garden and the City Hall of Madrid. The ''prado'' ("meadow") that was where the museum now stands gave its name to the area, the Salón del Prado (later

), and to the museum itself upon

nationalisation Nationalization (nationalisation in British English) is the process of transforming privately owned assets into public assets by bringing them under the public ownership of a national government or state. Nationalization contrasts with priv ...

. Work on the building stopped at the conclusion of Charles III's reign and throughout the

Peninsular War The Peninsular War (1808–1814) was fought in the Iberian Peninsula by Kingdom of Portugal, Portugal, Spain and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom against the invading and occupying forces of the First French ...

and was only initiated again during the reign of Charles III's grandson,

. The premises had been used as headquarters for the

cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from ''cheval'' meaning "horse") are groups of soldiers or warriors who Horses in warfare, fight mounted on horseback. Until the 20th century, cavalry were the most mob ...

and a

gunpowder Gunpowder, also commonly known as black powder to distinguish it from modern smokeless powder, is the earliest known chemical explosive. It consists of a mixture of sulfur, charcoal (which is mostly carbon), and potassium nitrate, potassium ni ...

-store for the

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

ic troops based in Madrid during the war. The next renovations that this museum will undergo will be conducted by British architect Norman Foster. This renovation was approved in June 2020 and is expected to take a minimum of four years.

Collection highlights

Selected works

File:Weyden-descendimiento-prado-Ca-1435.jpg,

, '' The Descent from the Cross'', c. 1435 File:Andrea Mantegna 047.jpg,

Andrea Mantegna Andrea Mantegna (, ; ; September 13, 1506) was an Italian Renaissance painter, a student of Ancient Rome, Roman archeology, and son-in-law of Jacopo Bellini. Like other artists of the time, Mantegna experimented with Perspective (graphical), pe ...

, ''

Death of the Virgin The Death of the Virgin Mary is a common subject in Western Christian art, and is the equivalent of the Dormition of the Theotokos in Eastern Orthodox art. This depiction became less common as the doctrine of the Assumption gained support in t ...

'', c. 1461 File:Cristo muerto, sostenido por un ángel (Antonello da Messina).jpg,

Antonello da Messina Antonello da Messina (; 1425–1430February 1479), properly Antonello di Giovanni di Antonio, but also called Antonello degli Antoni and Anglicized as Anthony of Messina, was an Italian painter from Messina, active during the Italian Early Ren ...

, ''The Dead Christ Supported by an Angel'', c. 1475 File:Albrecht Dürer - Self-Portrait at 26 - WGA6925.jpg,

Albrecht Dürer Albrecht Dürer ( , ;; 21 May 1471 – 6 April 1528),Müller, Peter O. (1993) ''Substantiv-Derivation in Den Schriften Albrecht Dürers'', Walter de Gruyter. . sometimes spelled in English as Durer or Duerer, was a German painter, Old master prin ...

Self-portrait Self-portraits are Portrait painting, portraits artists make of themselves. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, the practice of self-portraiture only gaining momentum in the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century ...

'', 1498 File:Albrecht Dürer - Adam and Eve (Prado) 2.jpg,

Adam and Eve Adam and Eve, according to the creation myth of the Abrahamic religions, were the first man and woman. They are central to the belief that humanity is in essence a single family, with everyone descended from a single pair of original ancestors. ...

'', 1507 File:Fernando yañez-santa catalina-prado.jpg, Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina, ''Saint Catherine of Alexandria'', c. 1510 File:Portrait of a Cardinal, by Raffael, from Prado in Google Earth.jpg,

, '' Portrait of a Cardinal'', c. 1510–11 File:Crossing the River Styx.jpg,

Joachim Patinir Joachim Patinir, also called Patenier ( – 5 October 1524), was a Dutch and Flemish Renaissance painting, Flemish Renaissance painter of History painting, history and Landscape painting, landscape subjects. He was Flanders, Flemish, from the ar ...

, '' Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx'', c. 1515–1524 File:El Lavatorio (Tintoretto).jpg,

, '' Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet'', c. 1518 File:Rafael - La Perla.JPG,

, '' The Pearl'', c. 1518–1520 File:Correggio Noli Me Tangere.jpg,

Correggio Antonio Allegri da Correggio (August 1489 – 5 March 1534), usually known as just Correggio (, also , , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter who was the foremost painter of the Parma school of the High Renaissance, who was responsible for som ...

, ''

Noli me tangere ''Noli me tangere'' ('touch me not') is the Latin version of a phrase spoken, according to John 20:17, by Jesus to Mary Magdalene when she recognized him after His resurrection. The original Koine Greek phrase is (). The biblical scene has b ...

'', c. 1525 File:Bacanal de los andrios.jpg,

, '' Bacchanal of the Andrians'', c. 1523–1526 File:Carlos V en Mühlberg, by Titian, from Prado in Google Earth.jpg,

, '' Equestrian Portrait of Charles V'', c. 1548 File:La Gloria (Tiziano).jpg,

, '' La Gloria (Titian)'', c. 1554 File:Tizian 091.jpg,

, ''

The Fall of Man ''The'' is a grammatical article in English, denoting nouns that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The ...

'', c. 1570 File:Trinidad El Greco2.jpg,

, '' Holy Trinity (El Greco)'', 1577–1579 File:El caballero de la mano en el pecho, by El Greco, from Prado in Google Earth.jpg,

, '' The Knight with His Hand on His Breast'', c. 1580 File:Venus y Adonis (Veronese).jpg,

Paolo Veronese Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , ; ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana (Veronese), The Wedding ...

, '' Venus and Adonis'', c. 1580 File:David and Goliath by Caravaggio.jpg,

Caravaggio Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (also Michele Angelo Merigi or Amerighi da Caravaggio; 29 September 1571 – 18 July 1610), known mononymously as Caravaggio, was an Italian painter active in Rome for most of his artistic life. During the fina ...

, '' David and Goliath'', 1600 File:Ciego tocando la zanfonía (Georges de La Tour).jpg, Georges de La Tour, ''Ciego tocando la zanfonía'', 1610–1630 File:Hipómenes y Atalanta (Reni).jpg,

Guido Reni Guido Reni (; 4 November 1575 – 18 August 1642) was an Italian Baroque painter, although his works showed a classical manner, similar to Simon Vouet, Nicolas Poussin, and Philippe de Champaigne. He painted primarily religious works, but al ...

, '' Hipómenes y Atalanta'', 1618–19 File:La adoración de los pastores (El Greco).jpg,

, '' The Adoration of the Shepherds (El Greco, Madrid)'', 1577–1579 File:Landscape with Sea and Mountains (1).jpg, Joos de Momper, '' Landscape with Sea and Mountains'', c. 1623 File:Gaspar de Crayer - Caritas Romana (Prado).jpg, Gaspar de Crayer, '' Caritas Romana'', c. 1625 File:El Parnaso (Poussin).jpg,

Nicolas Poussin Nicolas Poussin (, , ; June 1594 – 19 November 1665) was a French painter who was a leading painter of the classical French Baroque style, although he spent most of his working life in Rome. Most of his works were on religious and mythologic ...

, '' Parnassus'', c. 1630–31 File:Artemisia, by Rembrandt, from Prado in Google Earth.jpg,

Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (; ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), mononymously known as Rembrandt was a Dutch Golden Age painter, printmaker, and Drawing, draughtsman. He is generally considered one of the greatest visual artists in ...

, '' Artemisia'', c. 1634 File:Anthony van Dyck - Sir Endymion Porter and van Dyck.png,

Anthony van Dyck Sir Anthony van Dyck (; ; 22 March 1599 – 9 December 1641) was a Flemish Baroque painting, Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England after success in the Spanish Netherlands and Italy. The seventh child of ...

, '' Self-portrait with Endymion Porter'', c. 1635 File:Velazquez-The Surrender of Breda.jpg,

, '' The Surrender of Breda'', 1634–35 File:Velázquez - Dios Marte (Museo del Prado, c. 1638).jpg,

, '' Mars Resting'', 1639–1641 File:El sueño de Jacob, por José de Ribera.jpg,

José de Ribera Jusepe de Ribera (; baptised 17 February 1591 – 3 November 1652) was a Spanish painter and printmaker. Ribera, Francisco de Zurbarán, Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, and the singular Diego Velázquez, are regarded as the major artists of Spani ...

, '' Jacob's Dream'', 1639 File:Peter Paul Rubens 115.jpg,

, '' The Judgement of Paris'', 1638–39 File:Paisaje con el embarco en Ostia de Santa Paula Romana (Gellée).jpg,

Claude Lorrain Claude Lorrain (; born Claude Gellée , called ''le Lorrain'' in French; traditionally just Claude in English; c. 1600 – 23 November 1682) was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher of the Baroque era. He spent most of his life in I ...

'' El embarque de santa Paula'', 1639–40 File:Francisco de Zurbarán 006.jpg, Francisco de Zurbarán, ''

Agnus Dei is the Latin name under which the "Lamb of God" is honoured within Christian liturgies descending from the historic Latin liturgical tradition, including those of Roman Catholicism, Lutheranism and Anglicanism. It is the name given to a spec ...

'', 1635–1640 File:Bodegón de recipientes (Zurbarán).jpg, Francisco de Zurbarán, '' Still Life with Pots'', c. 1650 File:Murillo immaculate conception.jpg,

Bartolomé Esteban Murillo Bartolomé Esteban Murillo ( , ; late December 1617, baptized January 1, 1618April 3, 1682) was a Spanish Baroque painter. Although he is best known for his religious works, Murillo also produced a considerable number of paintings of contempor ...

, '' La Inmaculada de Soult'', 1678 File:The Immaculate Conception, by Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, from Prado in Google Earth.jpg,

Giovanni Battista Tiepolo Giovanni Battista Tiepolo ( , ; 5 March 1696 – 27 March 1770), also known as Giambattista (or Gianbattista) Tiepolo, was an Italian painter and printmaker from the Republic of Venice who painted in the Rococo style, considered an import ...

, ''The Immaculate Conception'', 1767 File:El Tres de Mayo, by Francisco de Goya, from Prado thin black margin.jpg,

, '' The Third of May 1808'', 1814 File:Goya Dog.jpg,

, '' The Dog'', 1819–1823 File:Francisco de Goya, Saturno devorando a su hijo (1819-1823).jpg,

, '' Saturn Devouring His Son'', 1819–1823 File:Paul Baudry - The Pearl and the Wave - c 1862 - Detroit Institute of Arts.jpg, Paul Baudry, '' The Pearl and the Wave'', 1862 File:Fusilamiento de Torrijos (Gisbert).jpg,

Antonio Gisbert Pérez Antonio Gisbert Pérez (19 December 1834 – 27 November 1901) was a Spanish artist situated on the cusp between the realist and romantic movements in art. He was known for painting pictures of important events in a country's history in a re ...

, '' Execution of Torrijos and his Companions on the Beach at Málaga'', 1882

Management

Funding

In 1991, Manuel Villaescusa bequeathed his fortune of nearly $40 million in Madrid real estate to the Prado, to be used solely for the acquisition of paintings. The museum subsequently sold Villaescusa's buildings to realize income from them. The bequest suddenly made the Prado one of the most formidable bidders for paintings in the world. Until the early 2000s, the Prado's annual income was approximately $18 million, $15 million of which came from the government and the remainder from private contributions, publications, and admissions. In 2001, the conservative government of

José María Aznar José María Alfredo Aznar López (; born 25 February 1953) is a Spanish politician who was the prime minister of Spain from 1996 to 2004. He led the People's Party (Spain), People's Party (PP), the dominant centre-right political party in Spai ...

decided to change the museum's financing platform, ushering in a public-private partnership. Under its new bylaws, which the

Cortes Generales The (; ) are the Bicameralism, bicameral legislative chambers of Spain, consisting of the Congress of Deputies (the lower house) and the Senate of Spain, Senate (the upper house). The Congress of Deputies meets in the Palacio de las Cortes, ...

approved in 2003, the Prado must gradually reduce its level of state support to 50 percent from 80 percent. In exchange, the museum gained control of the budget — which was roughly €35 million in 2004 — and the power to raise money from corporate donations and merchandising. However, its 2004 €150 million expansion was paid for by the Spanish state.

Directors

The first four directors were drawn from nobility. From 1838 to 1960, the directors were mostly artists. Since then, most of them have been

art historians The history of art focuses on objects made by humans for any number of spiritual, narrative, philosophical, symbolic, conceptual, documentary, decorative, and even functional and other purposes, but with a primary emphasis on its aesthetics ...

. * The Marquess of Santa Cruz, 1817–1820 * The Prince of Anglona, 1820–1823 * , 1823–1826 * The Duke of Híjar, 1826–1838 * José de Madrazo, 1838–1857 * Juan Antonio de Ribera, 1857–1860 *

, 1860–1868 * Antonio Gisbert, 1868–1873 * Francisco Sans Cabot, 1873–1881 *

, 1881–1894 * Vicente Palmaroli, 1894–1896 * Francisco Pradilla, 1896–1898 * Luis Álvarez Catalá, 1898–1901 * José Villegas Cordero, 1901–1918 * Aureliano de Beruete y Moret, 1918–1922 * Fernando Álvarez de Sotomayor, 1922–1931 * Ramón Pérez de Ayala, 1931–1936 * Pablo Ruiz Picasso, 1936–1939 * Fernando Álvarez de Sotomayor, 1939–1960 * Francisco Javier Sánchez Cantón, 1960–1968 * Diego Angulo Íñiguez, 1968–1971 * , 1971–1978 * , 1978–1981 * , 1981–1983 * Alfonso Pérez Sánchez, 1983–1991 * Felipe Garín Llombart, 1991–1993 * Francisco Calvo Serraller, 1993–1994 * , 1994–1996 * , 1996–2002 * , 2002–2017 * , 2017 – present

In Google Earth

In 2009, the Prado Museum selected 14 of its most important paintings to be displayed in

Google Earth Google Earth is a web mapping, web and computer program created by Google that renders a 3D computer graphics, 3D representation of Earth based primarily on satellite imagery. The program maps the Earth by superimposition, superimposing satelli ...

and

Google Maps Google Maps is a web mapping platform and consumer application offered by Google. It offers satellite imagery, aerial photography, street maps, 360° interactive panorama, interactive panoramic views of streets (Google Street View, Street View ...

at extremely high resolution, with the largest displayed at 14,000

megapixel In digital imaging, a pixel (abbreviated px), pel, or picture element is the smallest addressable element in a Raster graphics, raster image, or the smallest addressable element in a dot matrix display device. In most digital display devices, p ...

s. The images' zoom capability allows for close-up views of paint texture and fine detail.

Nearby museums

A few meters away there are two museums of international significance, the

and the

Museo Reina Sofía Museo may refer to: * ''Museum'' (2018 film), Mexican drama heist film * Museo station, station on line 1 of the Naples Metro {{disambiguation ...

. Nearby is the

Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando The Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (RABASF; ), located on the Calle de Alcalá in the centre of Madrid, currently functions as a museum and gallery. A public law corporation, it is integrated together with other Spanish royal aca ...

. The Museo Arqueológico houses the archaeological collections formerly in the collection of the Prado, with works from Spain,

Ancient Egypt Ancient Egypt () was a cradle of civilization concentrated along the lower reaches of the Nile River in Northeast Africa. It emerged from prehistoric Egypt around 3150BC (according to conventional Egyptian chronology), when Upper and Lower E ...

Mesopotamia Mesopotamia is a historical region of West Asia situated within the Tigris–Euphrates river system, in the northern part of the Fertile Crescent. Today, Mesopotamia is known as present-day Iraq and forms the eastern geographic boundary of ...

Greece Greece, officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. Located on the southern tip of the Balkan peninsula, it shares land borders with Albania to the northwest, North Macedonia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to th ...

, and

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

. The Naval museum, managed by the

Ministry of Defence A ministry of defence or defense (see American and British English spelling differences#-ce.2C -se, spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and Mi ...

, is also nearby.

Special exhibitions

Between 8 November 2011 and 25 March 2012, a group of 179 works of art were brought to the Museo del Prado from the

Hermitage Museum The State Hermitage Museum ( rus, Государственный Эрмитаж, r=Gosudarstvennyj Ermitaž, p=ɡəsʊˈdarstvʲɪn(ː)ɨj ɪrmʲɪˈtaʂ, links=no) is a museum of art and culture in Saint Petersburg, Russia, and holds the large ...

in St. Petersburg. Notable works included: * '' A Scholar'' (1631), by

* '' The Lute Player'' (c. 1596), by

* ''

Ecstasy of Saint Teresa The ''Ecstasy of Saint Teresa'' (also known as ''Saint Teresa in Ecstasy''; or ) is a sculptural altarpiece group in white marble set in an elevated aedicule in the Cornaro Chapel of the church of Santa Maria della Vittoria, Rome, Santa Maria d ...

'' (1647), by

Bernini Gian Lorenzo (or Gianlorenzo) Bernini (, ; ; Italian Giovanni Lorenzo; 7 December 1598 – 28 November 1680) was an Italian sculptor and architect. While a major figure in the world of architecture, he was more prominently the leading sculptor ...

* '' Game of Bowls'' (1908), by

Henri Matisse Henri Émile Benoît Matisse (; 31 December 1869 – 3 November 1954) was a French visual arts, visual artist, known for both his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a drawing, draughtsman, printmaking, printmaker, ...

* ''Bouquet of Cornflowers with Stems of Oats in a Vase'' (c. 1900), by House of Fabergé * '' Pond at Montgeron'' (1876), by

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

* ''Belt buckle with a monster attacking a horse'', (4th–3rd century BC), (gold ornament from Peter I's

Siberia Siberia ( ; , ) is an extensive geographical region comprising all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has formed a part of the sovereign territory of Russia and its predecessor states ...

n Collection) * ''Moonrise, Two Men on the Shore'' (c. 1900), by

Caspar David Friedrich Caspar David Friedrich (; 5 September 1774 – 7 May 1840) was a German Romanticism, German Romantic Landscape painting, landscape painter, generally considered the most important German artist of his generation, whose often symbolic, and anti ...

* Composition VI (1913), by

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky ( – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter and art theorist. Kandinsky is generally credited as one of the pioneers of abstract art, abstraction in western art. Born in Moscow, he spent his childhood in ...

* ''Metaphysical Still life'' (1918), by

Giorgio Morandi Giorgio Morandi (July 20, 1890 – June 18, 1964) was an Italian painter and printmaker widely known for his subtly muted still-life paintings of ceramic vessels, flowers, and landscapes—their quiet, meditative quality reflecting the artist's ...

Conversely, for the first time in its 200-year history, the Museo del Prado has toured an exhibition of its renowned collection of Italian masterpieces at the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, from 16 May 2014 until 31 August 2014. Many of the works have never before left Spain.

References

External links

*
Masterworks in the collection

Prado
in

(extra high resolution) {{WikidataCoord Prado Prado Paseo del Prado Bien de Interés Cultural landmarks in Madrid Tourism in Madrid Art museums and galleries established in 1819 1819 establishments in Spain Juan de Villanueva buildings Neoclassical architecture in Madrid Cultural tourism in Spain Buildings and structures in Jerónimos neighborhood, Madrid Charles III of Spain

History

Historic structure

Collection highlights

Selected works

Management

Funding

Directors

In Google Earth

Nearby museums

Special exhibitions

See also

References

Further reading

External links