prado museum madrid
HISTORY
The Prado Museum is renowned as being the largest art gallery in the world. It also exhibits sculptures, drawings, coins and other works of arts, but it is undoubtedly its large collection of paintings which has given it fame worldwide. It houses more than 8,600 paintings, of which they exhibit less than 2,000 because of lack of space available. Many museums throughout the world have less artistic riches in their halls than the Prado Museum has in storage.
The present day art gallery comes from the royal collections of the old Trinidad Museum, as well as acquisitions, donations and bequests.
Its history began during the reign of Charles III, when he tried to create a single art collection under one roof. But it was not until the reign of Fernando VII when the Royal Museum of Painting and Sculpture was created, on 19th November 1819. The kings death caused inheritance problems and endangered the unity of the collection, but with the disappearance of the monarchy in Spain the museum became national property and became known as the Prado National Museum.
From then to this date, the works of art have survived several challenges and were transferred several times during the Spanish Civil War, ending up in the Swiss city of Geneva and being returned to Madrid during the Second World War.
Nowadays, its treasures are exhibited in two adjacent buildings. the Villanueva Building where the majority of the works are housed, and the Cason del Buen Retiro.
Enter the «El Prado Gallery»
COLLECTIONS
The multiple origins of the paintings of the Prado Museum allow us to classify its works according to the nationality of the original school:
SCHEDULE
Tuesdays to Saturdays: 9am-7pm
Sundays, holidays, 24th and 31st december: 9am-2pm
Mondays: closed
Closed 1st January, good Friday, 1st May, 25th December
On this web site we are completing a list of artists and their most characteristic works. Bookmark us so you can visit us regularly for current updates.
If you wish to visit our pages of paintings and artists, enter the: «El Prado Gallery»
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