Although the museum was founded on November 19, 1819, the building itself was designed in 1785 by the architect Juan de Villanueva as a Museum of Natural History commissioned by Charles III. Decades later, his grandson Ferdinand VII brought here part of the royal art collections that had been formed since the 16th century.ANDREA COMASAmong the pieces that the different Spanish monarchs accumulated, certain treasures stand out. These include, ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights,’ by Hieronymus Bosch; ‘The Nobleman with his Hand on his Chest,’ by El Greco; ‘The meninas,’ by Velázquez, and ‘The family of Charles IV,’ by Goya. In the image, a visitor admires ‘The Garden of Earthly Delights.’ANDREA COMASThe most important art salvage operation in Spanish history was carried out at the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936; the effort lasted three years, during which the Republican forces evacuated the main works of the museum from Spain. In the image, a painter reproduces one of the exhibited works in the Prado.ANDREA COMASThe Prado is currently managed by Miguel Falomir, but it has had around 30 directors throughout its history. During the Spanish Civil War, Pablo Picasso was appointed director by the government of the Second Republic, but he never took up his role. In the image, a visitor looks at the painting, ‘The Beheading of Saint John the Baptist and Herod’s Banquet,’ by Bartholomäus Strobel the Younger.ANDREA COMASThroughout these two centuries, the number of visitors has continued to increase, reaching 2,892,937 in 2018. In the image, a visitor takes a selfie with the masterpiece ‘The meninas,’ by Velázquez.ANDREA COMASThroughout the years, several restoration projects have been undertaken on Villanueva’s original building, the first of which took place in 1847. In the image, a portrait of ‘Philip IV’ by Velázquez.ANDREA COMASThe most ambitious expansion project was carried out between 2001 and 2007, when the architect Rafael Moneo designed an annex to the original building. In the image, a group of foreign tourists visit the Prado.ANDREA COMASA group of schoolchildren on a visit to the Prado. Some of the museum’s numerous treasures include Fra Angelico’s ‘The Annunciation,’ Roger van der Weyden’s ‘The Descent from the Cross’ and ‘Self-Portrait’ by Albrecht Dührer.ANDREA COMASThe Prado currently contains 8,100 works of art, of which 1,300 are on exhibit as part of the permanent collection. In the image, a visitor admires ‘The Haywayn Triptych,’ by Hieronymus Bosch.ANDREA COMASA visitor observes the drawings in the Goya exhibition ‘A Place of Memory’ that closes the program to commemorate the 200th anniversary of the museum.ANDREA COMAS
