Monday, April 25, 2011

Madrid - Museo del Prado

One of probably the most visited tourist spots in Madrid, the Prado Museum is home to over 7,000 paintings. Although the emphasis is heavily on the three most famous Spanish masters - Goya, Velázquez and El Greco - you will discover major and minor masterpieces from dozens of other artists.

Surrounded by wonderful botanical gardens, visitors have the opportunity to spend hours enjoying this early 19th century website and its contents. The museum was completed in 1819 and also the bulk of the early collection was drawn from paintings gathered by Spanish nobility.

It is expected that the recent disagreements over the new wing under construction might be resolved soon and it'll completed not lengthy right after. If that occurs, art lovers will be able to add to the list of works worth seeing those long held in storage. Zurbarán, Pereda and several additional inside the vault will considerably expand the works on display.

But those out there now make the Prado well worth a day-long stroll. Apart from the aforementioned Spanish masters, you can find quite a few works by the Flemish, Dutch, German, French, and Italians. Quite a few of these had been acquired by conquest from the time that Spain was one of the leading powers of Europe.

But nonetheless they were collected, the works themselves remain timeless examples of what artists in any era can accomplish.

Walk by means of the 'Goya entrance', on the ground floor at the begin of your journey and pause to get pleasure from the masterpiece of Fra Angelico, La Anunciación a la Virgen María. Not far away are some other outstanding Italian works - by Botticelli, Mantegna, del Sarto and Corregio. Do not miss Titian's Venus.

Carry on to see several works by Bosch, possibly the world's initial surrealist. There's the Garden of Earthly Delights, the Seven Deadly Sins, and others. Centuries ahead of his time, these 16th century paintings are the product of what can a minimum of be referred to as a 'vivid imagination'.

On the second floor are a number of 17th century Flemish, which includes works by Rubens and van Dyck. Rubens' Garden of Enjoy and Three Graces are on display. Nearby are some works by the famed mid-17th century Seville painter Murillo. His 3 Immaculate Conceptions are among the highlights of the collection.

But unquestionably the star attractions are the significant Spanish masters, particularly Goya and El Greco. It's these works that draw probably the most traffic.

El Greco, though born in Crete (hence the name), lived significantly of his life in Toledo, Spain. There he produced his John the Baptist, The Adoration of the Shepherds, The Resurrection and others in his distinctive style.

Works of Goya, too, are quite a few and display the full range of styles he used over the years. Those painted later in life form some of his most striking. Saturn Devouring One of His Sons is maybe probably the most representative of this period. Obviously, Goya's clothed Maja and Naked Maja both continue to draw visitors year after year.

The Museo del Prado is proudly provided as one of Madrid's most highly sought out tourist destinations. Once you go to that magnificent city, make sure to see for yourself why that's so.

1 comment:

  1. I liked it so much and very interesting, too! Thanks for sharing the experience.
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