The Prado Museum — Madrid

The Museum Collection

The museum’s collection consists of more than 30,000 works of classical art including drawings, sculptures, coins and furniture. But the paintings are the Prado’s crowning glory and it’s the walls adorned with the works of revered “Old Masters” such as Goya, Velasquez, El Greco, Raphael and Rubens that most visitors come to see.

Due to lack of space only about ten per cent of the collection is ever on display at any one time. Works of art are exhibited on a rotational basis within the two museum buildings – paintings from the 12 th to the 18 th centuries (including Goya’s work) are exhibited in the Villanueva building while the nearby Casa del Buen Retiro houses 19 th and 20 th century works.

Star attractions include the famous “Las Meninas” (Maids of Honour) by court painter Diego Velasquez. The painting, which includes a self-portrait of the 17 th century artist behind his easel, depicts the daughter of Felipe IV surrounded by her ladies-in-waiting, her dwarf and dog.

Rembrandt’s portrayal of his wife Saskia as the goddess Artemis is another major-crowd puller. The painting is widely regarded as one of the most beautiful of all the Dutch artist’s masterpieces.

But for many the works of Francisco de Goya, the leading artist of the late 18 th century who was the official royal painter for the Spanish kings Charles III, Charles IV and Ferdinand VII, are the Prado’s major magnet.

Along with Goya’s light hearted cartoons and lavish scenes of the aristocracy at leisure there are his later and deeply disturbing “black paintings” which reflect the tortured mind of a genius who spent his twilight years imprisoned in a bleak world of deafness and disillusionment.

One of the Prado Museum’s most powerful Goya works is his “Shooting of May 3rd 1808” – a shocking firing squad scene recalling a dark period in Spain’s history (largely forgotten by the rest of the world) when 5,000 civilians were executed in Madrid for resisting Napoleon’s army during the Peninsular War.

The Art of Surviving to a Civil War

The fact that so many precious works of art have survived the barbarity of man over the centuries is something of a miracle in itself and it makes the Prado collection even more special and unique.

During the Spanish Civil War (1936-39) hundreds of paintings were loaded onto trucks and sent for safe keeping, first to Valencia then to Girona and finally to Geneva. Spaniards, foreigners, soldiers and civilians took part in the mammoth and treacherous task of risking Franco’s bombing runs to safeguard the country’s artistic heritage. With the advent of World War II, the irreplaceable cargo was loaded onto night trains and smuggled back into Spain to avoid seizure by the Nazis.

Small wonder the Prado Museum and its contents have a special place in the hearts of the Spanish people and art lovers worldwide.

Some History on the Prado Museum

The word “prado” (meaning meadow) comes from the area of Madrid which was ear marked as the site for a major urban renewal programme by Charles III. In 1785 the Spanish king commissioned architect Juan de Villanueva to construct a complex originally designed as a celebration of natural history and science. In 1819 the building was declared a “Museum of Painting and Sculpture” by Charles’ grandson Ferdinand VII who contributed his collection of invaluable works amassed by various royals through the centuries.

With the demise of the Bourbon monarchy in the mid 19 th century the museum became national property and its original royal collection was augmented by thousands of legacies, donations and important acquisitions.

Prado Museum Tickets and Opening Times:

You can buy a reduced price ticket for the three “Golden Triangle” art museums which are all within ten minutes walking distance of each other on the Paseo del Prado. These tickets give you access to the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Reina Sofia Arts Centre as well as the Prado.

Tuesdays to Saturdays: 9am-7pm
Sundays, holidays, December 24 th and 31st: 9am-2pm
Mondays: closed
Closed January 1st, Good Friday, May 1st, December 25th