Museo del Prado, Madrid

The Museo del Prado opened in 1819 in a Neoclassical building originally designed by Juan de Villanueva in 1785 as a natural science museum. Construction halted during the Napoleonic Wars, and King Ferdinand VII later transformed it into the Royal Museum of Painting. The collection derives from Spanish monarchs who accumulated art over centuries, with Philip IV sending Diego Velázquez to Italy to purchase masterpieces. The museum holds the world's largest collections of works by Velázquez, Goya, and El Greco.

Spanish royal taste shaped the Prado into a museum of painters rather than paintings, with certain artists represented by over 100 works each. Titian and Caravaggio rank among the Italian Renaissance and Baroque masters on display. Hieronymus Bosch features prominently thanks to Philip II's fascination with the Dutch painter. Goya's Black Paintings, donated in 1881, remain among the museum's most haunting works. The Prado has helped rediscover Spanish Primitives and positioned Velázquez as Spain's greatest painter, drawing visitors seeking the rich tradition of Spanish art.