There are various entrances to The Prado Museum. The most convenient is through the Puerta de Goya on Calle Felipe IV, which leads on to the first floor. The various works you will find in the museum are arranged according to schools. The building has two floors. The first floor is largely dedicated to the Spanish School and the ground floor to the Flemish School. The Prado Museum also has an annex known as the Cason del Buen Retiro. Here you will mainly find paintings and sculptures from the 19th and 20th century. One enters the annex via Calle de Alfonso XII 28.
The Prado Museum is best known for its royal collections of works. But the fact that the museum includes many of Europe’s finest artworks is testimony to the historical power of the Spanish crown. Basically, most of Europe was under Spanish influence for several centuries. Following the Bourbon accession to the Spanish throne, the 18th century was an era of French influence. If you only go to The Prado Museum once, viewing the Spanish works of the 17th century is a must!
What follows is a brief overview of the different Schools you can expect to see at The Prado.
Up to about the 19th century Spanish Painting focused mainly on religious and royal themes. In the works of Bartolome Bermejo and Fernando Gallego one can view Spanish Gothic art. They borrowed their sense of realism from Flemish masters of the time. In the works of painters such as Pedro de Berruguete Renaissance features begin to emerge. The Golden Age was particularly productive with the emergence of such great artists as Jose de Ribera.
Flemish and Dutch Painting can be traced to Spain’s long connection with the Low Countries. Many exceptional works of this School hang in The Prado. Amongst these are works by Robert Campin and Rogier van der Weyden. There are close to 100 canvases by the famous Peter Paul Rubens and two notable works by the Dutch painter Rembrandt.
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