If you’re interested in some real Spanish culture when you’re in Madrid, el Museo del Prado is a must. One of three art galleries at the centre of Madrid, the Prado displays some of Spain’s most well-known artworks. Art aficionados unanimously claim they could spend days taking in all that the Prado has to offer, but if you just want to know what not to miss, here are some suggestions.
Las Meninas (Diego Velázquez, 1656-1657)
A portrait of the Infanta Margarita Teresa at five years of age, along with her maids of honour, bodyguard, chaperone and dwarfs. Velázquez painted several other portraits of Margarita Teresa, although you can’t see them at the Prado Museum.
This one, however, is particularly famous because of the fact that Velázquez paints himself in the portrait, as the artist, and you can also see the faces of the King and Queen in the mirror.
El tres de mayo en Madrid (Francisco Goya, 1814)
Goya’s masterpiece records the Spanish resistance of Napoleon on the 2nd of May 1808. In response to the rebellion in Madrid, hundreds of Spanish civilians were rounded up and shot by the French.
The painting shows the cruelty of the French soldiers and the innocence of the Spanish. Although the events took place in 1808, it wasn’t until 1814, when Spain was once again in Spanish hands, that Goya had the freedom to paint this work.
La maja desnuda (Francisco Goya, 1797-1800)
This is one part of a pair of paintings of the same woman, in the same pose, though in one she is fully clothed and in other other, she is nude.
The nudity in this painting is what landed Goya in some trouble with the Spanish inquisition.
Saturno devorando a su hijo (Francisco Goya, 1820-1823)
This bleak painting is one of Goya’s series of 14 Black Paintings which he actually painted on the walls of his home, rather than on canvas, in Bordeaux, where he lived in exile in the latter part of his life.
All 14 of the Black Paintings are equally haunting and reveal the torment in his own mind, after sinking into depression when he became deaf.
The painting depicts a Greek myth of Saturn eating his child in fear of being overthrown by his children.
El caballero de la mano en el pecho (El Greco, 1580)
Although no one knows for certain who the subject of this portrait is, it is both intriguing and detailed.
Some say it could be a self-portrait, others say it could be Cervantes, but most people believe it to be a painting of Juan de Silva y de Ribera, 3rd Marquis of Montemayor.
El caballero de la mano en el pecho
Cristo crucificado (Diego Velázquez, 1632)
Although Velázquez didn’t paint many religious works, this one stands out because of the realism in the body of Christ, and also his contrast of dark with light, influenced by the style of Caravaggio after a visit to Italy.
Conclusion
Although there are many more well-known artworks by Spanish painters in the Prado Museum, these are among the most famous. You’ll find dozens of pieces by Goya, in particular. But don’t stop at the Prado, because there are two more galleries in the centre of Madrid with more famous masterpieces.