The Prado Museum in Madrid, the most important in Spain

The Prado Museum forms the so-called Madrid Art Walk in conjunction with the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Reina Sofía Art Center.

The Prado Museum is also the most important museum in Spain and one of the main art galleries in Spain.

In the rooms of the Prado Museum there is only a minimal part of what is found in its warehouses that are usually exhibited in various regular temporary exhibitions.

The venues of the Prado Museum

The Prado Museum has several locations in Madrid, even in other cities, but the main one is the Villanueva Palace.

It is a beautiful building located on the Paseo del Prado and was designed by Juan de Villanueva.

Its construction began in 1785 and it suffered major damage in 1808 during Napoleon Bonaparte’s invasion. After the war it was restored and became the home of the most important art gallery in Spain.

Among the other venues of the Prado Museum, the Casón del Buen Retiro stands out, located next to the Parque del Retiro and which was part of the former Palacio del Buen Retiro. It was built in 1637.

The visit to the Prado Museum

The Prado Museum is a huge museum that is practically impossible to visit in a few hours.

You will need a lot of time to do it, so you will have to choose what you want to see and the time you will spend doing it.

Most of the Prado Museum is dedicated to Spanish painting and among them the painters Francisco de Goya and Diego Velázquez stand out.

From Goya we can enjoy more than 140 works, among which we must highlight the Maja Vestida, the Maja Desnuda or Los Fusilamientos del 3 de Mayo, his most famous paintings, but also great masterpieces such as The Family of Carlos IV, the Fight of the Mamluks or the Dukes of Osuna and their children.

Goya’s black paintings have a special room and are also a must. From the other great Spanish painter, Velázquez, we can see 50 works, the most famous being Las Meninas, while highlighting the Portrait of Felipe IV, La Fragua de Vulcano, La Surrender de Breda or Los Borrachos.

Of the rest of the Spanish painters, works by Murillo, Zurbarán or Sorolla should be highlighted, highlighting the latter’s masterpiece, Boys on the Beach. The Knight with the Hand on the Chest, by El Greco, is also another essential work.

We can also find a wide collection of Italian or Flemish painting by painters such as Titian, Veronese, Raphael, Tintoretto, Caravaggio, Van Dyck, Rubens or El Bosco.

Of these painters we must highlight The Bacchanal by Titian, The Adoration of the Magi by El Bosco, The Garden of Earthly Delights, also by El Bosco or The Three Graces by Rubens.

From other European schools there are also some paintings like Rembrandt or Dürer and we can also find other arts besides painting such as sculpture or decorative arts.

You can find more information on the official website of the Prado Museum.