Museo Nacional del Prado
The Prado's unparalleled collection of pre-20th-century Spanish art draws crowds daily, in particular to see Velázquez's masterpiece Las Meninas, but also for the works of Francisco Goya and El Greco, as well as Bosch, Rubens, Titian, Botticelli, and Dürer. Commissioned by Charles III in the 18th century, the museum's central buildings were the work of architect Juan de Villanueva (designer of, among other famed Madrid spaces, the adjacent botanical gardens). Though the Prado was expanded soon after, space was never sufficient. That is, until a glorious extension by Raphael Moneo in 2007 added several new exhibition spaces. Most spectacularly, the convent of San Jeronimo next door was repurposed as a sculpture gallery with a skylight feeding natural light to the salons two floors below.
Insider Tip: Tuesday through Saturday, from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., the entry fee is waived and the halls are generally free of big crowds.
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From Travel + Leisure , APR 2009
Something that everyone should see right now is the Francis Bacon show at the Museo del Prado, celebrating the 100th anniversary of his birth. A contemporary artist at the Prado?...MORE>>
Last updated April 2009
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