DESTINATION SPOTLIGHT: “THE PRADO”; MUSEO NACIONAL DEL PRADO
7th of February, A.D. 2025 (02/07/2025) | Madrid, Spain
SPAIN’S PREMIER ART MUSEUM SINCE A.D. 1819
The Museo Nacional del Prado, or coloquially just “the Prado”, was erected as & remains a secular institution of the Spanish Royal Government. Nevertheless, it is prominently featured in any Itinerary of ours whose path crosses the city of Madrid. Why, one might ask? Simple! Housed & displayed here are some of the greatest works of art produced by Christendom. The building that today houses the Museo Nacional del Prado was designed by architect Juan de Villanueva in A.D. 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, encouraged by his wife Queen Maria Isabel de Braganza. The Royal Museum, soon 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 of A.D. 1819. Below is prepared a small sampling of some of the most important pieces a visitor to this esteemed museum might view & contemplate during their travels to Spain with OUTREMER!
“María Isabel de Braganza”, A.D. 1829, oil-on-canvas, by Bernardo López Piquer (A.D. 1801–1874)
The Queen-consort of Spain by her marriage to King Fernando VII de Borbón; a patroness of the arts & sciences during her brief time as Queen-consort. Unfortunately, she would not live to see her work finished, as after only two years of marriage, she tragically died during childbirth.
“Annunciation”, approx. A.D. 1425-1428, tempera-on-wood, by Fra Giovanni da Fiesole (Fra Angelico)
The Prado Annunciation is an altarpiece & one of the best-known works of Fra Angelico.Originally destined for the convent of the observant Dominicans of Fiesole, the painting is currently in the collection of the Museo del Prado in Madrid. It is one of three altarpieces by Fra Angelico representing the Annunciation; the other two being the Cortona Annunciation and the Annunciation of San Giovanni Valdarno. The sequence in which the three works were painted is not certain, but the general art historical consensus places the Prado version first.
The Annunciation remained at San Domenico until A.D. 1611 when it was sold to the King of Spain and taken to Madrid, where it became part of the royal collections of the Spanish monarchy before moving to the Prado in A.D. 1819.
“Christ Falling on the Way to Calvary”, approx. A.D. 1517, oil-on-panel-transferred-to-canvas, by Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino (Raphael)
Commissioned by the Sicilian monastery of Santa Maria dello Spasimo in Palermo & painted in Rome around A.D. 1517, it was shipped by sea, but the ship had a troubled journey and finally sank. This episode was narrated by Vasari:
“As it was being borne by sea to Palermo, a great tempest cast the ship upon a rock, and it was broken to pieces, and the crew lost, and all the cargo, except this picture, which was carried in its case by the sea to Genoa. Here being drawn to shore, it was seen to be a thing divine, and was taken care of, being found uninjured, even the winds and waves in their fury respecting the beauty of such a work.”
As the news of this was spread abroad, the Sicilian monks sought to regain the miraculous painting, but they had to ask for the Pope's intercession to retrieve it. It was carried safely to Sicily, and placed in Palermo, where it acquired great fame.
In A.D. 1661 the painting was acquired by the Spanish Viceroy Ferrando de Fonseca on behalf of King Philip IV, was later looted by the French under Napoleon Bonaparte , & returned following his final defeat in A.D. 1815.
“The Holy Tninity”, approx. A.D. 1577-1579, oil-on-canvas, by Doménikos Theotokópoulos (El Greco)
One of nine works produced by El Greco for the Convent of Santo Domingo el Antiguo in Toledo. King Ferdinand VII of Spain acquired it from the sculptor Valeriano Salvatierra in A.D. 1832 & placed it where it is presently displayed in the Prado.
It shows God the Father holding the dead body of God the Son, both under the dove of the Holy Spirit. The anatomy of the figures is influenced by that of Michelangelo, whilst the chromaticism recalls that of Tintoretto and the composition those of Albrecht Dürer.
“Agnus Dei”, approx. A.D. 1635-1640, oil-on-canvas, by Francisco de Zurbarán
“Agnus Dei” or the “Lamb of God” is an allusion to Christ's title as recorded in John's Gospel (John 1:29), where John the Baptist describes Jesus Christ as "The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the World".
Without date or signature, the date has been estimated between A.D. 1635 and A.D. 1640 during Zurbarán's artistic peak. It has been exhibited in the permanent collection of the Prado Museum in Madrid since its acquisition in A.D. 1986. It is understood to have belonged to King Ferdinand VII due to a wax seal that is preserved on the back of it. The virtuosity of its brushstrokes, the quality and simplicity of the corkscrew curls, make it one of the most elegant and substantive works of the Spanish Baroque.
TRAVEL TO MADRID & THE PRADO WITH OUTREMER!
View these exquisite works of both sacred & secular art plus hundreds of others at your leisure during your trip to Madrid, Ávila, Loyola, & other places of import on OUTREMER’s painstakingly crafted itinerary. See the Spanish heartland of Castile & León, from which came some of the greatest Saints of the Church, such as Ste. Theresa of Ávila, St. Ignatius of Loyola, & St. John of the Cross. Start your journey by exploring the bustling capital of Madrid, then venturing out to calmer Ávila. From there, move on to explore Salamanca, with a stop in Alba de Tormes. & more. All itineraries include daily Mass, local cuisine, & Catholic guides to help you immerse yourself in the culture, history, & faith of the Iberian peninsula.