Museo Nacional del Prado and the Saint Jerome the Royal Church

On our second day in Madrid, we had a bit of an impromptu visit to the Prado museum. We went out for a walk mostly to find some food, but the weather perked up and we decided to walk into the Prado.

Front Facade of the Museo Nacional del Prado — The Front of the Museo Nacional del Prado (not a working entrance)

One of the museums in the Golden Triangle of Art in Madrid, the Prado hosts some of the most prominent art of the renaissance and other periods. Among its collection are the works of Velasquez, Goya, Rubens, Greco, Dührer, Rembrandt, Caravaggio, and Rafael (yes, the Ninja Turtle.)

Front Entrance Foyer of the Prado — The Foyer in the Front of the Prado is large, and on the walls are engraved the names of numerous artists housed in the gallery

Walking to the Prado — The walkway to the Prado from our place took us by the Royal Botanic Gardens (right)

The walkway to the Prado from our place took us by the Royal Botanic Gardens (right)

Viewing the Art

Photography is prohibited in the museum, and attendants are posted all over monitoring (not that I would ever break the rules…) But the good news is the museum website allows you to download images of artworks for personal use free of charge, so I’ll highlight a few works below that either caught my eye or I remember from my Art History class at GPRC.

All images used with permission for personal use on a personal blog, as per the Museum website rules.

Saturn Devouring one of his sons — Saturn by Francisco Goya – One of his most famous works, part of a series known as the Black Paintings.

The Adoration of the Magi by Rubens — Saturn by Francisco Goya – One of his most famous works, part of a series known as the Black Paintings.

All images can be viewed on the Museo Nacional del Prado website.

Saint Jerome the Royal Church

After the Prado we detoured behind it to see the Saint Jerome the Royal Church. Built in 1503, it was a Hieronmite monastery located beside the royal palace of Buen Retiro (that now serves as part of the Prado museum.) The patchy brickwork is an interesting feature of the church, and possibly speaks to its many renovations and restorations over the years. It was also nice to see some blue sky, as we’ve been in gray weather most of the trip so far. I guess it’s still technically the tail end of winter here too.