Also known as The Prado Museum, this institution is the premier art museum of Spain, and its collection is made up of tens of thousands of drawings, paintings, prints, and sculptures. Originally designed in 1785, the building that now houses this extensive art collection was not officially opened to the public until 1819 when Ferdinand VII finally decided its fate. Though it originally contained mostly Spanish artwork, the museum now is now home to one of the most extensive European art collections in the world. The Prado contains thousands of works from different artists, including Rembrant, Caravaggio, Rafael, and of course the world’s most infamous Spanish artists, El Greco, Picasso, and Francisco de Goya.
One collection of works that everyone should see are the works of El Greco. Though technically he was Greek, El Greco lived and worked in Spain the majority of his life. While he was in Spain, he produced some of his most famous works of art which now are on exhibit in the Prado. His works are often seen as a precursor to the art movement known as Expressionism, as he combined many different styles of painting and uses of color to create his own unique style. Some of his paintings include Christ Carrying the Cross, and The Holy Trinity which now are a part of the Prado’s collection that feature another 40 paintings created during his lifetime.
There is one other collection that everyone should see in The Prado, and that is the work Francisco de Goya, who is arguably the most famous artist to come out of Spain. Goya studied art the majority of his life before he became famous. Even though today he is revered as an artistic genius, he had a rough start by not even getting accepted into art school, two separate times. It was not until he took off for Italy and then later to Spain that he ended up creating works that now sit in the museum. Here you can see his notebook from his time in Italy, as well as paintings including The Woodcutters, The Colossus , and Christ Crucified.
With thousands of works of art on display, and hundreds more in storage, there is no way to see every piece of art in The Prado Museum. But rest assured that all of the art you do see is some of the best in the world by some of the greatest artists to ever learn the craft. The collection here continues to grow and there is always endless amounts to learn, as well as a different way to see the world through the eyes of an artist.
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