Art Travel Guide

My Madrid Museum Tour – Museo del Prado

For anyone who has had the privilege of traveling to Madrid, Spain, art lovers or not, you will all agree that a visit to the Medridian museums is an absolute must.

I ventured to Madrid last week and aside from the unbarring August heat and my horrible Spanish skills, it was an amazing 5 days…

When in Madrid, I stayed on the Gran Via, at the heart of the old city of Madrid. The buildings and cathedrals that surround you on every corner are breathtaking and the food and people complete a scenery filled with style, culture, and tradition.

The focal point of Madrid’s artistic history can be found at the Museo del Prado – which is a monument of artistic impressions from the 12th century up to the 17th century. Aside from many paintings of Guya and Velazques, you can find some works by Rafael, Rembrandt, Adams, and many more.

My favorite piece was by far the large three-panel Hieronymus Boch painting The Garden of Earthly Delights Triptych.

Frankly, the Prado in my eyes was a disappointment. Yes, these artists were geniuses of their times and the art is absolutely amazing. However, most of the paintings at the Prado show religious themes or aristocratic portraits of the many European genealogies of the time.

Personally, I like to stare at art that someone actually thought about and has hidden meanings in his creations. I am not a big fan of Realism and would prefer more modern works like Monet, Van Gogh, and Cezanne, not to mention Rothko and Picasso.

Another upsetting point about visiting the Prado is their bizarre refusal to allow the visitors to take photos of the paintings… in all the museums in New York, Paris, and London that I have visited the flash was always off, but I could at least take photos of the art.

Of course, that did not stop me from taking a few pictures from inside the Prado… I wish I could have shown you more, but security noticed I took a few pics and requested me to stop.

To sum, I think that the Prado is great if you are into Realism of the fifteenth and sixteenth century. If you are more of a Mondern art connoisseur and would like to enjoy brilliant thought-provoking artistic creations, head-over to see the Guernica at the Museo Nacional Reina Sofia next door.