Museo del Prado is the largest art museum in the world that houses paintings from various ages by international artists.
The Museo del Prado was known as the Royal Museum of Painting and Art during the reign of Fernando VII. Prior to Fernando, Charles III was the proprietor of this museum. After the death of Fernando VII, the collections in the museum were declared a national property and the museum was renamed as Museo del Prado.
The museum presently consists of two separate buildings, the Villanueva building and the Cason del Buen Retiro building.
Museo del Prado: Collections
- Paintings
The artworks and the museum collectibles prove to be a visual treat for the visitors, giving an insight into Spanish as well as international art. The art collections preserved here belong to the medieval age onwards upto the modern age. The paintings in Museo del Prado can broadly be categorized into Spanish, Flemish, German, Dutch and British painting and many more.
Some of the most popular masterpieces that are preserved in the Museo del Prado include:
- The Annunciation by Fra Angelico
- The Descent from the Cross by Rogier van der Weyden
- The Garden of Earthly Delights by Hieronymous Bosch
- Christ Washing the Disciples' Feet by Tintiretto
- The Three Graces by Rubens
- Las Meninas by Velázquez
- The Third of May: the Executions on Príncipe Pío by Goya
|
- Sculpture
There are a total of 900 sculptures in Museo del Prado that include renaissance, baroque, classical and the more contemporary forms of the 18th and the 19th century. Oriental and Greco-Roman sculptures also form some of the most prized collections in the museum. The museum sculptures also include donations from individuals and countries. Some of the masterpieces include:
- Greco Roaman sculptures by Leoni, Phidias, Polyclitus, Myron
- Epimetheus and Pandora by El Greco
- Faun with Kid from the Pargamese school
- Crouching Venus from the Hellenistic period
- The sculptures of monarchs like Charles V, Mary of Hungary and many more
- The Venus of Madrid
- Venus by Bartolomeo Ammanati
- Sculptures of Jupiter and Neptune
- Bacchic Alter
Museo del Prado: Visiting hours
Tuesday to Saturday- 9am to 7 pm
Mondays: Closed. The museum also remains close on the 1st of January, 1st of May, and the 25th of December.
Sundays, Holidays, 24th and 31st of December: open from 9am to 2 pm.
Upcoming exhibitions: Portraits of the Renaissance that is going to be held between June 3rd and September 7th, 2008; Goya in the Times of War that is to be held between April 15th and July 13th, 2008; Luca Giordano in the Cason del Buen Retiro between February 21st and May 4th, 2008.
Museo del Prado is one of the largest museums in Madrid.
|
