Being in awe when visiting Prado Museum is considered an understatement. Don't take out word for it, go see it yourself! With more than 7,000 paintings in their collections. What was once a grand palace now turned museum, it is a must see when visiting if you ever make your way to Madrid. And how can you not when the city itself is already filled with so much culture and beautiful art in itself. So what are you waiting for? Download the Prado Museum Travel Guide and Offline Map now!
1. History
The neoclassical Palacio de Villanueva was completed in 1785 and what is now the museum's Western Wing. It was originally born as a house of science and later became a barracks for Napoleon's cavalry troops. The building itself is already beaming with history. In 1814, King Fernando VII decided to use the palace as a museum. Five years later the Museo del Prado opened with 311 Spanish paintings on display.
2. Goya
Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes is a staple name in the Prado Museum. His work can be found on all three floors of the Prado. In Room 65, Goya’s El dos de mayo and El tres de mayo rank among Madrid’s most emblematic paintings as they bring to life the 1808 anti-French revolt and subsequent execution of insurgents in Madrid. Alongside, in Rooms 67 and 68, are some of his darkest and most disturbing works, Las pinturas negras with their dark browns and black and distorted animalesque appearance of their characters.
3. Velázquez
Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velázquez is another of the grand masters of Spanish art who brings so much distinction to the Prado. Of all his works, Las meninas (Room 12) is what most people come to see. Completed in 1656, it is more properly known as La família de Felipe IV (The Family of Felipe IV). The rooms surrounding Las meninas contain more fine works by Velázquez with his paintings of various members of royalty--Felipe II, Felipe IV, Margarita de Austria, El Príncipe Baltasar Carlos and Isabel de Francia on horseback.
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