Museo del Prado facts for kids
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Front façade (Velázquez entrance) in 2016
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| Established | 19 November 1819 |
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| Location | Paseo del Prado, Madrid, Spain |
| Type | Art museum, historic site |
| Visitors | 3,337,550 (2023) Ranked 13th globally (2023) |
| Public transit access |
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| Architect | Juan de Villanueva |
| Official name: Museo Nacional del Prado | |
| Type | Non-movable |
| Criteria | Monument |
| Designated | 1962 |
| Reference no. | RI-51-0001374 |
The Museo del Prado, officially called the Museo Nacional del Prado, is a super famous art museum in the heart of Madrid, Spain. It's like a giant treasure chest filled with amazing European art from the 12th century all the way to the early 1900s. Many of these artworks used to belong to the Spanish royal family!
The museum has the best collection of Spanish art in the world. It started in 1819 as a museum for paintings and sculptures. Today, it also has many other types of art. Some of the most famous artists you'll find here are Francisco Goya, Hieronymus Bosch, El Greco, Peter Paul Rubens, Titian, and Diego Velázquez. Velázquez, a brilliant Spanish painter, also helped bring many Italian masterpieces to Spain, which are now part of the museum's collection.
The Prado's collection includes about 8,200 drawings, 7,600 paintings, 4,800 prints, and 1,000 sculptures. Plus, there are many other artworks and historical papers. In 2023, the Prado was the 13th most-visited art museum in the world!
The Prado, along with the nearby Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Museo Reina Sofía, forms Madrid's "Golden Triangle of Art." This area, called the Paseo del Prado, was even added to the UNESCO World Heritage list in 2021.
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A Look Back: The Prado's Story
The building where the Museo del Prado stands today was designed in 1785 by a famous architect named Juan de Villanueva. King Charles III wanted it to be a Natural History Cabinet. But things changed! His grandson, King Ferdinand VII, decided to turn it into a Royal Museum of Paintings and Sculptures. This was thanks to his wife, Queen María Isabel de Braganza.
The royal museum opened its doors to the public in November 1819. It had two main goals: to show off the amazing artworks owned by the Spanish Crown and to prove that Spanish art was just as good as any other country's art. Over the years, the museum grew, and its collection became so large that it needed many renovations.
The first list of artworks, published in 1819, only showed 311 Spanish paintings. But the museum actually had 1,510 pieces from royal homes, including art from other countries. The royal collection, which is the heart of the Prado today, started growing a lot in the 1500s with King Charles V. Later kings and queens also added many masterpieces.
Some of these famous artworks include The Descent from the Cross (van der Weyden) by Rogier van der Weyden, The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymous Bosch, The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest by El Greco, Equestrian Portrait of Charles V by Titian, Las Meninas by Velázquez, and The Family of Charles IV by Goya.
Besides the royal collection, other museums and generous gifts helped the Prado grow. For example, the two famous "Majas" paintings by Goya were added. When Queen Isabella II was removed from power in 1868, the museum became a national museum and was officially named the "Museo del Prado."
Over time, the museum became too small for all its art. It was expanded in 1918 and many times after that. More than 2,300 paintings, plus sculptures, prints, and drawings, have been added through gifts and purchases. Important additions include Goya's "Black Paintings" and El Greco's The Fable. Velázquez's Portrait of Ferdinando Brandani and Fra Angelico's Madonna of the Pomegranate were also bought in recent years.
During the Spanish Civil War (1936-1939), the museum staff moved many artworks to different cities for safety. They even sent some to Geneva! All the art was safely returned to the museum when World War II began.
The main building has been expanded several times. Two other buildings nearby, the Casón del Buen Retiro and the Salón de Reinos (Hall of Realms), also became part of the museum. These extra spaces allow the museum to show even more art. In 2007, a big expansion project by architect Rafael Moneo added 16,000 square meters of exhibition space. This helped the museum welcome more visitors.
A cool glass-roofed area now holds the museum's shops and cafeteria. This freed up more space for art galleries in the main building. A 16th-century cloister (a covered walkway) was carefully taken apart and rebuilt in the new extension.
In 2016, it was announced that British architect Norman Foster would renovate the Hall of Realms. This project will give the Prado even more space to display its amazing collection. The Spanish government approved the plans in 2021.
The Prado's Building Design
The Prado Museum building is a grand structure built during the time of King Charles III. It was part of a big plan to make Madrid a more beautiful city. The architect, Juan de Villanueva, also designed the nearby Botanical Garden.
The area where the museum stands was once a "prado," which means "meadow" in Spanish. That's how the museum got its name! Work on the building stopped during the Peninsular War (when Napoleon's troops were in Madrid). The building was even used as a headquarters for cavalry and a gunpowder storage during the war. Work started again later under King Ferdinand VII.
Amazing Artworks at the Prado
The Prado is home to countless masterpieces. Here are just a few of the incredible works you can see:
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Selected Works to Discover
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Rogier van der Weyden, The Descent from the Cross, around 1435
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Andrea Mantegna, Death of the Virgin, around 1461
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Albrecht Dürer Self-portrait, 1498
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Fernando Yáñez de la Almedina, Saint Catherine of Alexandria, around 1510
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Raphael, Portrait of a Cardinal, around 1510–11
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Joachim Patinir, Landscape with Charon Crossing the Styx, around 1515–1524
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Tintoretto, Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet, around 1518
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Correggio, Noli me tangere, around 1525
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Titian, Equestrian Portrait of Charles V, around 1548
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Titian, La Gloria (Titian), around 1554
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El Greco, Holy Trinity (El Greco), 1577–1579
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El Greco, The Knight with His Hand on His Breast, around 1580
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Georges de La Tour, Blind Man Playing the Hurdy-Gurdy, 1610–1630
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Joos de Momper, Landscape with Sea and Mountains, around 1623
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Anthony van Dyck, Self-portrait with Endymion Porter, around 1635
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Diego Velázquez, The Surrender of Breda, 1634–35
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Diego Velázquez, Mars Resting, 1639–1641
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José de Ribera, Jacob's Dream, 1639
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Claude Lorrain The Embarkation of Saint Paula, 1639–40
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Francisco de Zurbarán, Agnus Dei, 1635–1640
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Francisco de Zurbarán, Still Life with Pots, around 1650
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Giovanni Battista Tiepolo, The Immaculate Conception, 1767
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Francisco Goya, The Dog, 1819–1823
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How the Prado is Managed
Funding the Museum
The Prado gets money from different places to keep running and to buy new art. In 1991, a man named Manuel Villaescusa left a huge amount of money to the Prado, specifically for buying paintings. This made the Prado a very strong buyer in the art world!
For a long time, most of the museum's money came from the Spanish government. But in the early 2000s, the government decided the museum should also raise more money from private donations and selling things like souvenirs. This change gave the museum more control over its budget.
Explore the Prado on Google Earth
In 2009, the Prado Museum chose 14 of its most important paintings to be shown on Google Earth and Google Maps. These images are super high-resolution, some as big as 14,000 megapixels! This means you can zoom in incredibly close to see the tiny details and even the texture of the paint. It's like being right there in front of the artwork!
Other Museums Nearby
Just a short walk from the Prado, you'll find two other very important museums: the Thyssen-Bornemisza Museum and the Museo Reina Sofía. Together with the Prado, they form a fantastic art district.
Also nearby are the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando (a fine arts academy) and the Museo Arqueológico. The Archaeological Museum has ancient treasures from Spain, Ancient Egypt, Mesopotamia, Greece, and Rome. The Naval Museum, which tells the story of Spain's navy, is also close by.
Special Exhibitions and Traveling Art
The Prado often hosts special exhibitions, bringing art from all over the world to Madrid. For example, from November 2011 to March 2012, 179 artworks came to the Prado from the Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. These included famous pieces like A Scholar by Rembrandt and The Lute Player by Caravaggio.
The Prado's own collection also travels! For the first time in its history, a group of its famous Italian masterpieces went on tour to the National Gallery of Victoria in Melbourne, Australia, from May to August 2014. Many of these works had never left Spain before!
See also
In Spanish: Museo del Prado para niños
- List of largest art museums
- Josefa Bayeu (painting)
