About Prado Museum Madrid

Commissioned by Charles III in 1785, Prado Museum was originally designed by Juan de Villanueva as a natural science museum. King Ferdinand VII and Queen Maria Isabel of Braganza later opted to use it to house the royal paintings, and the Museo Nacional Del Prado opened its doors in 1819.

Prado Museum boasts one of the most extensive collections of Francisco de Goya’s works, including over 150 paintings, over 600 drawings, over a 100 handwritten documents, and a selection of prints.

The most famous painting in the museum is Velázquez’s Las Meninas, one of the largest canvases from the Sevillian painter. Considered controversial for its defiance of genre, this snapshot of life at the Spanish court is as unsettling as it is captivating.