Spanish Tourism

The Prado Museum was built under the reign of Carlos III in 1785. It was a direct order of the monarch to the architect Juan de Villanueva. The project is part of an ambitious plan to modernize scientific, individually tailored to the king and his cabinet enlightened intellectuals and artists renewal. At first there was to function as art gallery, but it would be the Cabinet of Natural History.

The Prado Museum is recognized as the largest galleries around the world. Exhibits sculptures, drawings, coins and other works of art, but it is undoubtedly its large collection of paintings which has given her fame. Stores more than 8,600 exhibits paintings qu less than 2,000 due to lack of space. Many museums throughout the world have less wealth in their rooms to the Prado in its stores. The current gallery is from the royal collections of the old Museum of the Trinity, as well as acquisitions, donations and legacies. From then until now, works of art have survived several changes being moved during the Spanish Civil War, the Swiss city of Geneva, and returning to Madrid during the Second World War. Today his treasures are displayed in two adjacent buildings: the Villanueva Building, which houses most of the works, and the Cason del Buen Retiro.

The diverse backgrounds of the paintings in the Prado, for classifying jobs according to the nationality of the originating schools: The Italian school has among others, works of Andrea Mantegna, Sandro Botticelli, Raphael, Andrea del Sarto, Correggio, Lorenzo Lotto, Tintoretto, Veronese, Tiepolo and above all, Titian. Old Flemish painters, with works by Rogier van der Veyden, Hans Memling Flemish masters, Jochim Patinir, Quentin Metsys, Bernard van Orley, Hieronymus Bosch, Pieter Bruegel and the Flemish school with Rubens, Jordaens and Anton van Dyck. Schools German, French and Dutch with works by Lucas Cranach, Albrecht Durer, Nicolas Poussin, Claude Lorrain and Rembrandt