BETA
Chapter 1
The royal gaze of Diego Velázquez
Chapter 2
Goya and the raw truth of the Bourbons
Chapter 3
The Habsburg collectors and their dark treasures
Chapter 4
From royal palace to the people's museum
Ch 4 · From royal palace to the people's museum
galleta Catch falling canvases to master the signature styles of history's most famous painters.
galleta The rebuilt Jerónimos Church cloister stands inside the museum's modern expansion.
Glossary
1819 (noun)
The historic year the Museo del Prado opened to the public, debuting around 300 Spanish royal paintings. It marked the moment exclusive crown jewels of art became a public treasure for all to behold.
The historic year the Museo del Prado opened to the public, debuting around 300 Spanish royal paintings. It marked the moment exclusive crown jewels of art became a public treasure for all to behold.
galleta During the Spanish Civil War, the museum's treasures were packed up and sent on a dangerous journey.
Fun Fact
Picasso the director: During the Spanish Civil War, the Republican government appointed Pablo Picasso as the honorary director of the Prado Museum while he was in Paris.
galleta The Prado's main building was originally designed as a natural history museum, not an art gallery.
Quiz
Which Spanish queen successfully advocated for opening the royal art collection to the public?
Quiz
Which famous 20th-century artist was appointed honorary director of the Prado during the Spanish Civil War?
Quiz
How many paintings were displayed on the opening day of the Museo del Prado in 1819?
Quiz
Which modern architect designed the major 2007 expansion of the Prado that incorporated an old church cloister?
Quiz
To which neutral European city were the Prado's masterpieces evacuated during the Spanish Civil War?
Quiz
What was the Prado's main building originally designed to house before it became an art museum?