The Prado, Madrid: Five Fabulous Things

The Prado Museum in Madrid is viewed as the epicenter of the art scene for the city, if not the whole country. It’s with good reason-the Prado is Spain’s national art museum, and it contains more than 7,000 paintings and thousands of other important Spanish works of art.

Now that I’m living back in Spain, I’m delighted to spend time at the Prado again, visiting my favorite paintings. While The Prado certainly has more than five fabulous things, here are my favorites:

1 Las Meninas by Velasquez (Room 12)

One of the most important painters in Spanish history was Diego Rodriguez de Silva y Velasquez (Spanish people have crazy last names. It’s a whole thing.) Diego Velasquez, as he is more commonly known, was a painter for the Spanish Royal Court in the 1600s.

Las Meninas is a portrait centered around Margareta Theresa of Spain when she was a child. The attention to detail in the depiction of the figures is stunning. I notice something new every time I visit.

Pro-tip: One thing to notice is that Velasquez painted himself in the picture as the artist behind the canvas. Also, it’s super interesting to compare and contrast this version with Pablo Picasso’s version.

2 Garden of Earthly Delights by Bosch (Room 56A)

The Garden of Earthly Delights by the Dutch artist Jheronimus Bosch gets its most contemporary chops in the recent environmental documentary ‘Before the Flood‘. During the film, Leonardo DiCaprio discusses how the painting influenced the documentary title.

The Garden of Earthly Delights is a triptych (translation: painted on three panels) completed during the Renaissance. The panels depict Genesis, the time of the ‘peaceable kingdom’ and lastly, the fall of humanity. Each scene is painted with stunning, intricate detail and color.

But perhaps the most interesting aspect of this work is not easily visible at first glance-if you walk around to the back side of the painting you will see the outermost surface, only visible when the panels are closed. This side features the Earth as a grey globe sitting in space. Completed around the year 1500, it is suspected that this is the first artistic depiction of the world as a sphere suspended in outer space.

3 Black Paintings by Goya (Room 67)

Francisco José de Goya y Lucientes (see note above about Spanish names) is another great master of Spanish painting. His most famous works depict the Spanish Royal Family, Spanish uprising against the French occupation and political commentary on the corrupt nature of Spanish politics. These painting are thoughtfully styled and obviously intended for public display (Goya served for almost twenty years in various capacities as a Court Painter for the Royal Family).

Then there are the Black Paintings.

Towards the end of his life, Francisco Goya suffered from a variety of ailments and illnesses that led his painting to a darker place. The Black Paintings were completed on the walls of his last Madrid residence. He never spoke of them and they were not discovered until the house was sold.

The Prado keeps the whole collection of what was salvageable (literally scraped off the walls and transferred to the museum) together in one gallery. These paintings provide a mesmerizing artistic depiction of inner agony and pain. It feels like a glimpse into the artist’s soul during this difficult period of his life.

Pro-tip: For a museum in a different city where similar artist emotions are on display, check out the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

4. Sculpture (Various Artists, Rooms 71-74)

If you need to chill out after the whole ‘Black-Paintings-eating-your-soul’ thing, head to the nearby sculpture galleries.

The sculptures at the Prado don’t get enough credit. The galleries are calm and well-curated. The pieces are intricate and represent a variety of styles from ancient Greek (see image) to more Spanish artists (including works attributed to El Greco).

5 Special Exhibits (Gallery Rooms A-D)

The Prado does a great job with special exhibits! Since the Prado collection is so large that you can often see works that are not usually displayed during their special exhibitions. Often, the paintings are displayed side-by-side with other works they have influenced or inspired, they do an especially great job of this with Spanish artists like El Greco.

I always see what is listed on the website before I go. They are very well-explained and the informational panels usually contain interesting information about the artistic importance of the work as well as it’s history.

I hope you enjoy these suggestions! Picture of the Prado below.

One last pro-tip: Entrance to the Prado is free from 6 PM-8 PM every day. At 6 PM the line usually stretches down the block. If you go from 7 PM-8 PM, you can usually stroll right in. Enjoy!

And before you go-there are lots of other great museums close by! Check out a previous post about the Thyssen Museum here.