Trip 45
January 18, 2024
The Musée Prado had been on the top of our list of places to visit in Madrid and with our first full day here, it was our plan to spend most of the day there. It’s about a 15 minute walk from our hotel and fortunately, seems like a pretty nice day outside. It’s noon and on the way, we hear bells that are clearly those of a glockenspiel. I had to look around a bit to find the source, which was up about 3 stories, so this isn’t all of the music (YouTube) . It’s so unique to find these; this one’s been in operation for 20 years and plays at 12:00, 15:00, 18:00 and 20:00. This is only a few blocks from the Prado, near the National Congress, so if you’re going to see the Prado, try to find this site.
We bought tickets with a senior discount and they say online you need proof of age (in my case, you don’t need proof), but they really mean it. We also paid for the audio guide, which was really worthwhile; there are quite a few paintings with a numbered index that, when put into the audio guide, provide a nice background to the artist, historical context, painting details, etc. that unless you were an art historian, you’d not fully appreciate. A few excerpts about the collection.
The building that today houses the Museo Nacional del Prado was designed by architect Juan de Villanueva in 1785. It was constructed to house the Natural History Cabinet, by orders of King Charles III. However, the building’s final purpose – as the new Royal Museum of Paintings and Sculptures – was the decision of the monarch’s grandson, King Ferdinand VII. The Royal Museum, soon quickly renamed the National Museum of Paintings and Sculptures and subsequently the Museo Nacional del Prado, opened to the public for the first time in November 1819. The Museum’s first catalogue, published in 1819, included 311 paintings, although at that time its collection comprised just over 1,500 pictures from the various Reales Sitios (Royal Residences). The exceptionally important royal collection, which represents the foundation of the Museum’s collection as it exists today, started to increase significantly in the 16th century during the time of Charles V and continued to thrive under the succeeding Habsburg and Bourbon Monarchs. The museum celebrated its 200th anniversary in 2019.
Paintings make up the majority of the Museo del Prado’s collection, with 7,600 pieces in total. The artists and collections exhibited are predominantly Spanish, but the gallery also includes British, German, Italian, French, Flemish and Dutch works.
Photos of the art are not allowed , unfortunately (I sneaked a few), but the scope of the exhibits both in terms of the time periods (beginning in the 11th century), artists and styles is truly overwhelming.
I made a short list of a few of the artists and paintings we viewed. I couldn’t possibly list everything we saw in the course of five hours.
◦ Christ the savior
◦ The Bearded Woman
◦ The raising of Lazarus
◦ Defense of Cadiz
◦ David with the head of Goliath
◦ Adoration of the Shepherds
◦ Baptism with the Holy Spirit
◦ The Beheading of St John the Baptist and Herod banquet
◦ The triumph of death
◦ Table of the seven deadly sins
◦ The Haywain Triptych
◦ Temptations of Saint Anthony
◦ Christ Blessing , the Virgin Mary and Saint John the Baptist
◦ The Annunciation
◦ Scenes from the life of the Virgin
◦ The Virgin of the Pomegranate
◦ Portrait of a cardinal
◦ Phillip III on horseback
◦ Prince Baltasar Carlos on horseback
◦ Gaspar de Guzmán Count Duke of Olivares on horseback
◦ Siege of Breda
◦ The Adoration of the Magi
◦ Diana and her Nymphs surprised by Saytrs
◦ The Three Graces
◦ Perseus freeing Andromeda
◦ The Supper at Emmaus
◦ The infante din Francisco de Paula
◦ Family of Charles IV
◦ The Ecstasy of Saint Francis of Assisi
◦ Man with Lute
◦ The Mystic Marriage of Saint Catherine
◦ The Pietà
◦ Heads of old men
◦ The taking of Christ
◦ The Painter Martin Ryckaert
◦ Time defeated by Hope and Beauty
◦ Saint Anthony Abbot in Meditation
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