Masterpieces of the Prado Museum: Life and Destiny of Spanish Artists

What to Expect

Following the Louvre, adhering to the ideals of the Enlightenment era, Joseph Bonaparte, Napoleon's brother, issued a decree to establish an art museum in Madrid and ordered it to be named the Josephine. To begin with, I will tell you why the museum eventually became known as the Prado, what collections are included in its holdings, and how it differs from the Louvre.

Certainly, the Prado cannot be called the grandest or most complete of the world's museums, but perhaps it is the most expressive, logical museum; its collections are curated with love. And undoubtedly, one cannot form an idea of Spanish painting without visiting here. Murillo, Ribera, Zurbaran, El Greco, Velazquez, Goya, Sorolla - the brightest representatives of the Spanish school of painting.

Each artist had their own path to fame: Zurbaran was a shepherd and drew on tree bark from his childhood, Ribera spent his last years as a hermit and died in poverty, Murillo was born in Seville where he later organized the Academy of Arts, becoming its president... but let's make a pause here and continue already in the Prado in front of the paintings of the masters of painting. I will also delve into the stories behind the creation of paintings, their symbolic meanings.

During the tour, of course, I will also pay attention to artists from other countries whose paintings are a source of pride for the museum.

This way, you will learn to navigate the Spanish school of painting, the individual artistic styles of the masters, and get closer to the main pages of Spanish history.